Bearman handed five-second penalty for ignoring blue flags at Hungarian Grand Prix
Oliver Bearman received a five-second time penalty during the Hungarian Grand Prix after the FIA stewards ruled that the Haas driver failed to comply with blue flags while being lapped by Isack Hadjar.
The British driver was found to have breached Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 e) of the International Sporting Code after delaying the Racing Bulls driver despite multiple blue flag warnings.
Following the race, the stewards reviewed positioning and marshalling system data, video footage and onboard footage from Bearman's Haas before concluding that the driver had failed to allow Hadjar through at the earliest opportunity.
According to the FIA's findings, blue flags were first shown to Bearman as Hadjar approached between Turns 7 and 1. During that period, Car 87 passed no fewer than 11 blue flag light panels before finally yielding position.
The stewards determined that Bearman had an opportunity to let Hadjar through much earlier in the lap.
"The driver of Car 87 was required to allow Car 6 to pass at the earliest opportunity," the stewards explained in their decision. "In the Stewards' assessment, that opportunity arose at the latest between Turns 11 and 12, but Car 87 did not allow Car 6 to pass until the entry to Turn 1 on the following lap."
As a result, the stewards imposed the standard five-second time penalty on the Haas driver. In Bearman's case, the FIA concluded that sufficient opportunities existed well before he eventually allowed Hadjar to overtake, leading to the penalty that added five seconds to his race time.
