Hours before the Monaco GP qualifying, Oliver Bearman slapped a 10-place grid penalty

Oliver Bearman has been awarded a 10-place grid penalty for the Monaco GP on Sunday (May 25), before getting the chance to make a qualifying effort. According to the report released by the FIA, the young Briton has been penalized due to an overtake he made during a red flag period in Friday's practice session (May 23).

In FP2, the Haas driver appeared to overtake the Williams' of Carlos Sainz after the session had been red flagged when championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed into the barriers head-on, bringing out the second stoppage to the session.

The report released by the FIA describes the incident as it happened, explaining that while the pit wall was late in informing Bearman of the red flags being waved, which happened just before the overtake, the lights on the driver's wheel should've been an indicator enough.

"Well prior to the overtake, the session had been red flagged. The team informed the driver rather late, just before the overtake happened. However, it is clear from the video footage that there was a light panel directly in front of the driver which showed the red flag; and the dashboard also indicated the red flag well before the overtake took place."

However, Oliver Bearman admitted to seeing the flags being waved, but chose not to slow down abruptly because he was concerned that it would cause an accident.

"The driver claimed that he saw the red flags but decided not to slow down abruptly because he felt that slowing down abruptly would have been more dangerous and that what he did was a safer way of handling the situation." [via FIA]

The stewards didn't feel that his move was justified, which led to the rookie being given a 10-place grid penalty, as well as two penalty points.

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At the end of the second practice session, Oliver Bearman put in a best time of 1:12.259, placing him in P15 in the session's leaderboard, while his teammate, Esteban Ocon, finished P19.

"It’s going to be insane": Oliver Bearman highlights his excitement for Monaco Grand Prix

Oliver Bearman on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 23, 2025- Source: Getty

Before this Monaco Grand Prix weekend kicked off and he was handed his 10-place grid penalty, Oliver Bearman was very much looking forward to racing in the streets of Monte Carlo. The 20-year-old, who has raced on the track during his time in F2, relayed his enthusiasm for doing it in an F1 car, as well as getting to stay in his own home, given he, like many other drivers on the grid, lives in Monaco.

“I am so excited for that. It’s going to be insane and it will be nice to sleep in my own bed. It will be a special weekend. F2 on the streets of Monaco was special enough, so F1 is going to be incredible.” [via GrandPrix247]

Last year, driving for PREMA Racing in Formula 2, Oliver Bearman crossed the line to take a fourth-place finish in Monaco.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl