Oliver Bearman, Haas, Yas Marina, 2025

Oliver Bearman will go into next year’s season just two penalty points away from an automatic ban following an incident with Lance Stroll in today’s race.

The stewards penalised both drivers for making more than one change of direction to defend their positions.

Bearman was penalised for changing his line several times between turns eight and nine as he tried to prevent Stroll passing him on the final lap. Stroll, who passed several cars including Bearman before the end of the race, received his penalty for changing direction too many times at the same point on the circuit after passing Carlos Sainz Jnr.

The stewards issued Bearman and Stroll a five-second time penalty each plus one penalty point on their licences. In each case they ruled the driver “made multiple moves in defending” against a rival on the straight before turn nine. Yuki Tsunoda received the same penalties for his incident with Lando Norris.

After the race Bearman said he was “a bit miffed as to why I was penalised” for the incident with Stroll, claiming he had changed lines trying to prevent his rival gaining a slipstream. “With Stroll, [I was] penalised for more than one change of direction,” he said. “I broke the tow once, which is allowed by regulation and then I defended the inside line.”

Bearman’s latest penalty point means he is now on a total of 10. Any driver who collects 12 over a 12-month period receives an automatic ban.

The Haas driver will not have any points deducted from his licence until after the sixth round of next season in Miami. Stroll is now on six penalty points.

Bearman and Stroll’s penalties cost both of them positions in the final classification. Stroll fell to 10th place behind Nico Hulkenberg while Bearman dropped out of the points and finished 12th.

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Lance Stroll’s penalty points

DateEventSessionInfringementPoints
23/5/2025Monaco Grand PrixSecond practice‘Collision between Car 18 and Car 16 at Turn 6.’1
15/6/2025Canadian Grand PrixGrand prix‘Forcing another driver off of the track’2
18/10/2025United States Grand PrixSprint race‘Car 18 collided with Car 31 in Turn 1’2
7/12/2025Abu Dhabi Grand PrixGrand prixMade multiple changes of direction defending his position1

Oliver Bearman’s penalty points

DateEventSessionInfringementPoints
23/5/2025Monaco Grand PrixQualifying‘Car 87 overtook Car 55 under red flag.’2
5/7/2025British Grand PrixThird practice‘Failure to comply with a red flag’4
7/9/2025Italian Grand PrixGrand prix‘Car 87 collided with Car 55 at Turn 4’2
8/11/2025Brazilian Grand PrixSprint race‘Driving in a manner deemed potentially dangerous on the straight’1
7/12/2025Abu Dhabi Grand PrixGrand prixMade multiple changes of direction defending his position1

Penalty box

Did the stewards issue the correct penalties? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Bearman’s penalty for changing his line multiple times in front of Stroll was

  • No opinion (30%)
  • Far too lenient (3%)
  • Slightly too lenient (10%)
  • Correct (43%)
  • Slightly too harsh (10%)
  • Far too harsh (3%)

Total Voters: 30

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Stroll’s penalty for changing his line multiple times in front of Sainz was:

  • No opinion (37%)
  • Far too lenient (3%)
  • Slightly too lenient (7%)
  • Correct (40%)
  • Slightly too harsh (7%)
  • Far too harsh (7%)

Total Voters: 30

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2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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