JUST IN: FIA announce late demotion for F1 star at Dutch Grand Prix… Read more
FIA announce late demotion for F1 star at Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix weekend has turned increasingly sour for rising Formula 1 driver Ollie Bearman, after the FIA confirmed that the Haas rookie will be forced to start Sunday’s race from the pitlane. The decision followed a series of component changes to his car that breached the sport’s regulations, adding further frustration to what has been a difficult campaign for the 19-year-old.
Qualifying at Zandvoort was already a challenging affair for Bearman and his Haas team. In a closely fought Q1 session, just over one second separated the entire grid. Despite the competitiveness, Haas found themselves languishing near the back. Bearman managed only 19th fastest, while his teammate Esteban Ocon placed 18th. Canadian driver Lance Stroll occupied 20th after failing to record a lap in his Aston Martin.
Haas, recognizing the poor grid position, opted to carry out several strategic changes to Bearman’s VF-25. The team replaced multiple power unit elements, including a new internal combustion engine, turbocharger, and both the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H) and motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K). Under Formula 1’s sporting regulations, drivers are permitted to use four of each of these components over the course of a season. With these latest changes, Bearman is now using a fifth, thereby breaching the component allocation limits.
Alongside the engine elements, Haas also fitted a third control electronics system to Bearman’s car, even though drivers are limited to only two such parts per season. A new exhaust system was also introduced. While Bearman had already used five of the permitted eight exhausts, the latest change remains within regulation.
The key issue, however, lay in Haas carrying out these changes without prior approval from the FIA’s technical delegate. After reviewing the matter, the stewards confirmed that Bearman must now start the Dutch Grand Prix from the pitlane rather than the grid, a sanction considered harsher than the usual grid drop since it leaves him trailing the entire field from the very start.
For Bearman, the penalty adds to a mounting list of frustrations. Despite showing promise during his debut season, he has now gone ten consecutive grands prix without scoring a championship point. His only relief came in Belgium, where he secured seventh place in the sprint race to collect a handful of points. Recent results have been particularly cruel: in four of his last five full-length races, Bearman has finished 11th—just one position outside the points-paying top 10.
The pitlane start also compounds Haas’s wider struggles. The American outfit has failed to score in their last three races, and if the barren run continues in Zandvoort, it will mark the first time this season they have endured four consecutive point-less weekends. Currently, Haas sit ninth in the Constructors’ Championship on 35 points, 15 clear of Alpine but trailing the Racing Bulls by 10.
For a team already grappling with inconsistency, the setback is far from ideal. Haas had entered the summer determined to claw back momentum, but with Bearman penalized and Ocon starting from the back half of the grid, their chances of breaking into the points appear slim.
As Bearman prepares to fight his way through the field from the pitlane, attention will turn to whether he can finally convert his near-misses into a top-10 finish. For Haas, however, the focus is quickly shifting toward damage limitation in what is shaping up to be another difficult weekend in their 2025 campaign.
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