Oliver Bearman's day at the US Grand Prix turned into a complete disaster, but the Haas driver's got plenty to say about how it all went down. A collision with Pierre Gasly during the race earned him a ten-second penalty from the stewards, and Bearman reckons it was completely out of line. The young Briton didn't hold back in his assessment either, calling the penalty unfair and excessive given what he sees as a straightforward racing incident.
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Here's what happened. Bearman had nailed a brilliant start and a strong opening lap at COTA. After a virtual safety car restart, he made his move on Gasly at Turn 13, diving down the inside. He felt he'd earned the right to the space, but the Alpine driver didn't give him much room to work with. Bearman had to get up on the kerb to avoid contact, but there was no way out once he'd committed to the move. His wheels weren't locking, he wasn't out of control, but the contact was unavoidable. Ten seconds for that? Bearman thinks it's mad, especially when you look at other incidents this season that got either no penalty or just five seconds.
The cruel part is that even without the penalty, Bearman's race was already done. That slight touch with Gasly might have seemed minor, but it damaged his floor panel just enough to cause serious problems. Over the next few laps, vibrations made things progressively worse. By lap 26 of 56, something actually fell off the car, and Bearman suddenly lost eight-tenths of a second in a single lap. The car had become dangerous and unpredictable, so there was no choice but to park it.
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Before retiring, Bearman did the right thing by his team, letting teammate Esteban Ocon through. Haas are fighting to beat Audi in the constructors' championship, so no point holding up your own driver when you're heading for the pits anyway. For Bearman, it meant leaving Austin with absolutely nothing to show for what had started as a really promising afternoon. The penalty decision's still going to sting though.
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