Sky F1 pundit defends ban-threatened driver: Carlos Sainz ‘100 per cent’ at fault

Courting an automatic race ban, Anthony Davidson says Oliver Bearman is in an unfair situation as it was Carlos Sainz who was “clearly” responsible for their Italian Grand Prix collision.

Bearman could be the second Haas driver sidelined under Formula 1’s penalty points system, following on from Kevin Magnussen who was replaced by Bearman at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix when he hit the 12-point mark.

Oliver Bearman v Carlos Sainz: Who was at fault?

This year, it is Bearman who is facing that threat with the Briton requiring a squeaky clean race around the streets of Baku to avoid handing Ryo Hirakawa his Haas debut.

Although Bearman has shown signs of promise this season as he contests his first full Formula 1 campaign, scoring 16 points with a career-high P6 at the Dutch Grand Prix, the rookie has also made some glaring errors.

Errors that former F1 driver Davidson concedes have played a huge role in his current penalty points situation.

Speaking on Sky’s broadcast, Davidson said: “In his own words, saying, ‘I’m enjoying being part of Formula 1. It’s a pinch yourself moment when you arrive here in the scene and you’re a Formula 1 driver.’

“But then you’re looking more for longevity, and that’s where he finds himself now.

“And for him to stay in this game for a long, long time, he’s got to iron out the inconsistencies, which is all part and parcel of being a new driver in Formula 1, and that’s what the next step has to be for Ollie, because the speed is there. That’s the part you can’t really teach in many ways.

“So we’re looking for him — and he’ll be looking himself as well — to just iron out those inconsistencies.”

Those inconsistencies have put Bearman onto 10 penalty points on his Super Licence, just two away from an automatic one-race ban.

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He earned two last season when he collided with Franco Colapinto as he appeared in his second race as a substitute for Haas at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, and received another two for overtaking Carlos Sainz under a red flag in FP2 at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix. That was followed by a whopping four at Silverstone when he crashed heavily on pit entry while the session was under red flags.

His most recent penalty points came at the Italian Grand Prix where the stewards ruled that he was to blame for a collision with Sainz on lap 41.

Approaching the second chicane, Bearman was on the inside of Williams’ Sainz, with the two colliding at the apex of the corner.

“Car 55 attempted to overtake Car 87 on the outside into Turn 4 and had its front axle ahead of the front axle of Car 87 at the apex, thereby earning the right to the racing line,” read the stewards’ ruling.

“The driver of Car 87 defended his position on the inside instead of giving up the position and caused the collision.”

However, Davidson, showing the crash on the Sky pad, says a more extensive clip shows that it was Sainz who was in the wrong as he didn’t leave Bearman any room.

“That one in Monza, for me, was 100 per cent Sainz’s fault,” said the Briton.

“They are only guidelines, remember. It’s not a rule.

“But in terms of what we saw there, it’s cut too short, and it makes it look like Ollie’s making the move down the inside. He wasn’t. That’s actually Sainz coming around the outside of him and basically leaving him nowhere to go.

“So I think that, for me, clearly, is an unfair penalty.”

While Williams appealed Sainz’s penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix, and had his penalty points removed after a clash with Liam Lawson, Haas did not lodge a right of review petition in behalf of Bearman. As a result, the 20-year-old is now racing under the threat of a race ban.

“It’s annoying to be governed by these guidelines which I feel are quite vague in some areas and quite specific in others,” he told F1TV. “With my incident in Monza I felt like I was pretty hard done by.

“The guidelines state that I don’t deserve any space on the inside in that specific scenario, which in my view is a bit harsh. Of course, I’m biased towards myself, but I think a lot of people will agree and say that was quite a harsh scenario.

“It’s definitely something that I have to take into account. It’s a shame to be at this point, but I just have to have a few clean races.”

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