Breaking: F1 team demand FIA investigation after controversial I…read more

Haas Pushes for Full FIA Inquiry After Bearman’s Deleted Imola Qualifying Lap

 

Haas F1 have formally asked the FIA to explain—on paper and in detail—why Oliver Bearman’s quickest run in Q1 at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was erased, and what safeguards will be put in place to stop similar flashpoints in future sessions.

The flash-point moment

Late in Q1, Bearman strung together a rapid tour of Imola that, according to the timing screens, propelled him to tenth place and safely into Q2. His car crossed the finish line at 16 : 32 : 20.9. Just up the road, however, Williams reserve Franco Colapinto had crashed at Tamburello, prompting Race Control to trigger the red flag at 16 : 32 : 17.6. Because the electronic flag signal is logged at the same instant across every timing loop, the system judged Bearman to have completed his lap after the session had been neutralised and duly scrubbed his time. He tumbled to eighteenth, out in Q1.

 

Why Haas cry foul

Footage from Bearman’s onboard camera—and the overhead world feed—tells a subtler story. As the 19-year-old flashes beneath the start-finish gantry, no red panels are illuminated; the first visual cue that the session is halted appears on his steering-wheel dash only a fraction of a second after he has already broken the beam. Haas argue that the regulations require a red flag to be “shown instantly at every marshal post and on the start-line gantry.” If that display lags behind the computerised trigger, they contend, drivers cannot reasonably be penalised for completing a lap they never knew was illegal. Team boss Ayao Komatsu called the deletion “manifestly unfair” and warned that faith in Race Control hinges on visible, synchronised signals.

 

The FIA’s stance so far

The governing body has replied that Article 39.6 of the Sporting Regulations places ultimate authority in the electronic ‘abort lap’ command—colloquially the orange “X”—because it is broadcast simultaneously to every car, official display, and timing loop. Whether individual lights on the gantry illuminate a beat later is, in their view, irrelevant; once the message is issued, the lap is void. An FIA spokesperson added that the start-line light panel was in fact red, but glare and camera angle may have obscured it on the TV feed.

 

Haas’ formal petition

Komatsu and senior engineers met with FIA stewards on Saturday evening, then issued a written request for:

1. A millisecond-by-millisecond timeline detailing when the crash signal reached Race Control, when the red flag command was sent, when every light panel changed status, and when Bearman hit the finish line;

2. **An explanation of future fail-safe measures **—for example high-speed LED arrays at each sector line or a direct dash-illumination protocol—to guarantee that drivers receive an unmistakable red flag the instant the system is triggered;

3. Clarification of appeal options.

Under the International Sporting Code, Haas could still launch a “Right of Review” if they present fresh evidence within 14 days of the race, though historic precedent suggests overturning a timed-lap penalty is rare.

 

Broader implications

Being parked in eighteenth rather than the top ten almost certainly cost Haas a shot at minor points on a circuit where overtaking is notoriously tough. More widely, the spat reignites questions about whether Formula One’s high-speed choreography is too dependent on software timestamps, with insufficient allowance for what the driver can actually see at 300 km/h. Teams have already lobbied for a uniform, fibre-optically linked light system to replace rely-on-sight marshal boards; Haas’ protest is only likely to add momentum.

 

Bearman’s take

 

The Briton, still in his first full F1 campaign, was blunt: “I got the red light on my dash well after I’d crossed the stripe. Once Race Control decide, they never reverse it, even if every replay shows it’s wrong—that feels harsh.” While the youngster must regroup for the next round in Monaco, his misfortune may become the catalyst needed to refine F1’s red-flag protocol—so that the next driver who finishes a lap in the blink of an accident knows, undeniably, whether it counts.