F1 star on cusp of race BAN after double Brazil punishment

verstappen, bearman, haas, red bull — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 star on cusp of race BAN after double Brazil punishment

Ollie Bearman was penalised in the sprint race for an incident

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 9 November 2025 12:58

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An F1 star has edged closer to a one-race ban from the sport, after a double whammy punishment handed to him by FIA race stewards at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

During the sprint race at Interlagos, Oliver Bearman was involved in an early tangle with Liam Lawson, which all but ended any hopes he had of claiming points in the 24-lap race.

FIA race stewards investigated the incident, and ruled that Bearman had been 'driving in a manner deemed potentially dangerous' by edging Lawson off-track during their battle, and the British rookie was handed a five-second time penalty and a penalty point on his licence.

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That five-second time penalty will not have to be served until the next sprint race which takes place at the Qatar GP later this month, but the penalty point will be a blow to the 20-year-old, who was already close to a one-race ban.

Bearman is now up to nine penalty points in the last 12 months, with 12 being enough to see drivers banned for a full race weekend.

It means that Bearman is just one big infringement away from a ban, and the first of those points to expire isn't until May 2026.

Lawson penalised for incident

While Bearman was handed the penalty for being deemed to be driving dangerously, he also spun around and had his race ruined.

And for that, Lawson was also penalised, given a five-second time penalty and an extra penalty point on his FIA superlicence for causing a collision.

Like with Bearman, Lawson won't have to serve that penalty until the next sprint race, but he also now edges closer to a race ban, with the Racing Bulls star sat at seven penalty points for the 12-month period.

Lawson will have two points expiring in December, and so will be confident that he can avoid a ban, certainly for the remainder of this season.

F1 Liam Lawson Haas Brazilian Grand Prix Ollie Bearman