There was a brief moment of joy for Haas in Imola when Oliver Bearman made it into Q2 during the qualifiers. However, this joy quickly turned into disappointment and confusion as the British driver’s fast lap time was disqualified. Bearman was allegedly too late crossing the finish line after the red flag was raised. Haas lodged a protest, and the young driver did not hesitate to voice his opinion on the stewards’ decision.
For a moment, it seemed like a successful qualification for Oliver Bearman in Imola. The Brit clocked a lap time of 1:16.077, good enough to advance to Q2. But when the Haas driver returned to the garage, his time was disqualified, and he fell back to nineteenth place. According to the stewards, Bearman crossed the finish line 3.2 seconds after the red flag was raised. The young driver and his team, who immediately lodged a protest, were taken aback.
‘Unfair’
“We get the red lights on our dashboard. For me, that only happened after I had already crossed the line,” Bearman later told the media. “When I watched the onboard footage, it was clear that no red flag was shown when I crossed the line.” The red flag was raised due to Franco Colapinto’s crash just as Bearman was nearing the finish line. The Argentine driver crashed into the tire barrier after coming out of the first corner combination.
Bearman did not mince his words and lashed out at the stewards. “I find it completely unfair that my time was removed. I feel that once the stewards have made a decision, even if it is clearly wrong, they do not backtrack. And that seems a bit harsh to me.” Haas’ protest yielded nothing, and Bearman will start the race from the nineteenth starting position. The team demands further clarification from the FIA in an official statement. Haas also wants an action plan to prevent a recurrence.
