FIA announce late demotion for multiple F1 stars at Australian Grand Prix

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Australian Grand Prix

FIA announce late demotion for multiple F1 stars at Australian Grand Prix

Two F1 stars have been hit with a late ruling at the Australian Grand Prix

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Sunday 16 March 2025 04:25 Updated: 04:52

Two Formula 1 stars have been hit by a last-minute demotion at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Things could not have gone much worse for Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman in their first official competitive grand prix weekends with Red Bull and Haas respectively in 2025.

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For Bearman, the 19-year-old stepped in for Kevin Magnussen last year with a late switch, but now lines up for the team full-time this season.

His Friday running was cut short after a nasty crash in FP1 that ultimately prevented him from getting out on track for FP2 also.

Oliver Bearman signed for Haas for the 2025 F1 season

The teenager endured a nightmare start to the Australian GP weekend

Things then went from bad to worse on Saturday, as Bearman ended up in the gravel during the early stages of FP3.

The teenager was unable to set a time in qualifying and needed permission from the FIA to start the race on Sunday.

Lawson, meanwhile, was plagued by suspected power unit issues in free practice and was only able to qualify down in P18 for lights out.

FIA announce late demotion for F1 stars

Now, both Haas and Red Bull have made late changes to Bearman and Lawson's cars. Bearman's suspension was changed under parc ferme conditions, meaning that he now has to line up from the pitlane.

Bearman will now be required to start from the pitlane

An official FIA document read: "Haas F1 Team changed the setup of the suspension of Car 87 [Bearman] under parc ferme, this not being in accordance with Article 40.9 of the FIA Formula 1 sporting regulations.

"Car 87 is therefore required to start the Race from pit lane."

Parc ferme: Means 'closed park' in French, parc ferme is an area where cars are kept after qualifying to ensure they haven't been illegally modified before the race.

Red Bull have also made a late change to Lawson's car under parc ferme conditions.

"The rear wing and rear beam wing of car number 30 [Lawson] were changed to ones of a different specification," an official FIA document read.

"Therefore car number 30 should now be required to start the race from the pit lane according to Article 40.9 a) of the 2025 Formula 1 sporting regulations."

Red Bull FIA Australian Grand Prix Liam Lawson Haas Oliver Bearman