Oliver Bearman at Risk of a Race Ban
- therookiereporters
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
With nine penalty points to his name, will Oliver Bearman be able to finish the season without missing a race?
Bearman currently sits on nine penalty points, only 3 away from a race ban. This threat is almost ironic considering the young Brit's debut with Haas following Kevin Magnussen's race ban last season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
To find out more on how penalty points work and Magnussen’s race ban, read this article: Understanding FIA Penalty Points: What They Are, Why They Matter, and Who’s on Thin Ice
This means that Bearman must drive carefully, making calculated moves rather than clumsy ones, which may earn him more points against his super licence. The hard part about this is that he doesn’t have to do this for a weekend or two, but until 23 May next season, when two of his points expire. In this time, F1 will race nine Grand Prix and three Sprint Races.
For a rookie trying to show his worth and a driver in a tight constructor battle with Aston Martin and Kick Sauber, this is no easy ask. Driving carefully can mean avoiding risks, reduced lap times and missing overtaking opportunities- all of which might hurt both his and the team's position in their respective championships. In the Driver’s Championship, Bearman sits 11th (as of before the Las Vegas Grand Prix), with only 3 points separating him from Hulkenberg and Hadjar, who tie above him on 43 points. Along with this, Alonso, Sainz and Lawson sit worryingly close behind him, the three drivers being within 4 points of Bearman.
Bearman’s current penalty points resulted from 4 incidents this season, listed below:
2 points - May 23 - Monaco Grand Prix - Overtaking Sainz during red flag conditions (FP2)
4 points - July 5 - British Grand Prix - Failure to comply with a red flag (FP3)
2 points - September 7 - Italian Grand Prix - Causing a collision with Sainz
1 point - November 8 - São Paulo Grand Prix - Driving in a manner deemed potentially dangerous (Sprint)
The driver with the most penalty points following Bearman is a 3-way tie between Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Lance Stoll. These three drivers all have 7 points to their super licences, with Lawson and Stroll to have two points expire on December 1st. The Japanese driver, however, won’t have any points expire until June 14 2026.
Regarding his penalty points, Bearman has said, “It’s definitely something that I have to take into account….. It’s a shame to be at this point, but I just have to have a few clean races for the next few.”
Current Grid’s Penalty Point Count:
Driver | Penalty Points | When their next point expires |
Oliver Bearman | 9 | 2 on May 23, 2026 |
Yuki Tsunoda | 7 | 2 on June 14, 2026 |
Liam Lawson | 7 | 2 on December 1, 2025 |
Lance Stroll | 7 | 2 on May 23, 2026 |
Oscar Piastri | 6 | 2 on December 8, 2025 |
Max Verstappen | 6 | 1 on November 30, 2025 |
Kimi Antonelli | 5 | 2 on June 29, 2026 |
Carlos Sainz | 4 | 2 on April 13, 2026 |
Alexander Albon | 4 | 2 on December 1, 2025 |
Lewis Hamilton | 3 | 2 on August 31, 2026 |
Lando Norris | 3 | 3 on December 1, 2025 |
Pierre Gasly | 2 | 2 on August 3, 2026 |
Esteban Ocon | 1 | 1 on September 7, 2026 |
Charles Leclerc | 1 | 1 on August 3, 2026 |
Franco Colapinto | 1 | 1 on June 29, 2026 |
George Russell | 1 | 1 on December 1, 2025 |
Gabrielle Bortaleto | 0 | |
Fernando Alonso | 0 | |
Issac Hadjar | 0 | |
Nico Hulkenberg | 0 |
Article written by Olivia Myers
