FIA confirms additional Liam Lawson punishment after latest Oliver Bearman incident
Liam Lawson has had one or two run ins with the FIA over the course of his F1 career
Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson has had one penalty point added to his F1 superlicence for driving “erratically” in defence against Oliver Bearman’s Haas, the FIA has announced.
Lawson was handed a five-second penalty during the race while defending against Bearman.
Liam Lawson handed FIA penalty point after Abu Dhabi GP incident with Oliver Bearman
Bearman went on to narrowly miss out on the points in 12th place, with Lawson coming home a lap down in 18th.
The FIA has announced that Lawson has been handed a penalty point for the incident with Bearman, putting him on six for the current 12-month window.
Under F1’s rules, drivers face an automatic one-race ban if they accumulate 12 penalty points within a 12-month period, with former Haas man Kevin Magnussen the first driver to be banned under the system in 2024.
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The stewards’ verdict on Lawson read: “The Stewards reviewed video including in-car video evidence.
“Car 30 made several erratic moves between turns 8 and 9 as Car 87 was approaching.”
Speaking after the race, Lawson accepted the blame by acknowledging he moved late in defence against Bearman.
He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “I was defending [against] him.
“To be fair, I moved quite late so it was probably my bad. It wasn’t intentional, but I guess that’s why I got the penalty.”
The latest incident between Lawson and Bearman comes after a flashpoint between the pair at the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race last month.
Lawson and Bearman made contact at Turn 4 on the opening lap of the mini race at Interlagos, with Bearman put into a spin at Turn 4 moments after appearing to edge Lawson on to the grass.
The pair were handed a penalty point apiece on that occasion.
More on Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls from PlanetF1.com
Despite failing to score a point with Lawson and teammate Isack Hadjar in Abu Dhabi, the Racing Bulls team managed to secure sixth place in the constructors’ standings – the Faenza-based outfit’s best result since 2021 when it competed under the banner of AlphaTauri.
Red Bull announced ahead of the F1 2025 season finale that Hadjar will become Verstappen’s new teammate at Red Bull Racing next season, with current incumbent Yuki Tsunoda retained in a test-and-reserve role.
It means Lawson will be retained alongside Arvid Lindblad, the highly regarded Red Bull junior who has been promoted from F2, at Racing Bulls.
Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher
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