Two giant Stars at Edge of Total Disqualification due to…. see details
Following the sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ollie Bearman—the young driver for Haas F1 Team—moves even closer to risking a one-race suspension after accruing nine penalty points over a rolling 12-month period. Under the regulations of Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), any driver who reaches 12 penalty points within a year is subject to a mandatory one-race ban, a scenario that befell Kevin Magnussen while also driving for Haas last season.
Bearman’s latest infringement occurred during the sprint race of the Brazilian Grand Prix, where stewards judged his driving to have been “in a manner deemed potentially dangerous.” In consequence he received a five-second time penalty, which—though it will be applied only at the next sprint event in Qatar—is accompanied by the addition of a penalty point to his tally. That brings his total to nine, placing him just three points short of triggering the automatic suspension. What is more concerning from his perspective is that none of his existing points are set to expire until May 2026, which means the risk remains high and immediate.
Also involved in the same incident was Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, who himself was issued a five-second penalty and one penalty point for causing a collision with Bearman. Lawson now sits on seven penalty points, making him the second-closest driver to a ban under the 12-point rule.
To lay out the broader context: any driver who accumulates 12 penalty points in a 12-month span faces a compulsory one-race suspension. With Bearman at nine and Lawson at seven, both are under increasing scrutiny and pressure. Many other drivers also have points on the board, though at lower levels—Max Verstappen sits on six, Lance Stroll and Kimi Antonelli both have five, and a handful of others — including Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda and Jack Doohan — are on four. Some others, including Lando Norris with three, and various drivers with one or two points, remain further from that threshold. A few, such as Fernando Alonso, Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg, are currently on zero.
A look at some individual cases helps illustrate the pace and expiry of these points:
Max Verstappen incurred one point at the Qatar Grand Prix for driving unnecessarily slowly on a cooldown lap (1 point), then two at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for causing a collision with Oscar Piastri (2 points), and three at the Spanish Grand Prix for causing a collision with George Russell (3 points). These points expire on December 1 2025, December 8 2025 and June 1 2026 respectively.
Yuki Tsunoda picked up two points at the Canadian Grand Prix (for overtaking under a red flag) and two points at the Austrian Grand Prix (for causing a collision with Franco Colapinto). Those points are due to expire on June 15 2026 and June 29 2026.
Lewis Hamilton has two points from the Dutch Grand Prix (failing to slow under double yellow flags) which will expire on August 31 2026.
Charles Leclerc took one point at the Hungarian Grand Prix for erratic defending, expiring August 3 2026.
George Russell has one point from Qatar 2024 (failing to keep a 10-car-length distance behind the safety car) expiring December 1 2025.
Kimi Antonelli has five points: two from the Austrian Grand Prix (for causing a collision with Verstappen), two from the Dutch Grand Prix (for causing a collision with Leclerc) and one from the Italian Grand Prix (for driving erratically). Their expiry dates are June 29 2026, August 31 2026 and September 7 2026 respectively.
Pierre Gasly has two points (Hungarian Grand Prix for causing a collision with Sainz) expiring August 3 2026.
Franco Colapinto has one point from forcing Oscar Piastri off the track at the Austrian Grand Prix, expiring June 29 2026.
Jack Doohan sits on four points (two for causing a collision with Gabriel Bortoleto in China sprint, expiring March 22 2026; two for forcing Isack Hadjar off the track at the China Grand Prix, expiring March 23 2026).
Lando Norris has three points for failing to slow for double yellow flags at Qatar 2024, expiring December 1 2025.
Oscar Piastri’s four points: two from Abu Dhabi 2024 (collision with Colapinto) expiring December 8 2025, and two from the British Grand Prix (braking erratically under the safety car) expiring July 6 2026.
Lance Stroll has five points: two from Qatar 2024 (collision with Alex Albon) expiring December 1 2025; one from Monaco 2025 (collision with Leclerc) expiring May 23 2026; and one from the United States Grand Prix Sprint (collision with Esteban Ocon) expiring October 18 2026.
Esteban Ocon has one point (forcing Stroll off at Italian Grand Prix) expiring September 7 2026.
And then Bearman’s nine points come from overtaking under red-flag conditions at Monaco (2 points, May 23 2026), failing to comply with a red flag at British Grand Prix (4 points, July 5 2026) and causing a collision with Carlos Sainz at the Italian Grand Prix (2 points, September 7 2026) plus the latest point from Brazil (November 8 2026).
For Lawson, six points came from collisions at Qatar 2024 (2 points, December 1 2025), Bahrain 2025 (1 and 2 points for separate incidents, April 13 2026), Miami 2025 (1 point, May 3 2026), and the Brazil incident (1 point, November 8 2026).
With Bearman just three points shy and Lawson five points away, both drivers will need to tread carefully over the coming events. Should either accumulate a further three (for Bearman) or five (for Lawson) within the 12-month rolling window, they will trigger a one-race ban. What adds to Bearman’s pressure is the fact that his oldest points don’t begin expiring until mid-2026, meaning that the buffer zone is very narrow. For Lawson, while he is slightly further back, his timeline also shows several points won’t drop off until late 2026.
It means the remainder of the season (and early part of 2026) will carry added intensity for both drivers—not just in terms of performance on track, but also in how conservatively they drive. Any misjudgment, collision or potential rule-breach could tip either of them over the 12-point threshold and force them to sit out a race, which is a major outcome for any driver and team given the competitiveness and tight margins of Formula One World Championship.
In short: Bearman is firmly in the danger zone, with Lawson not far behind. The next few races will be critical if they wish to avoid the unwanted penalty of enforced suspension. Teams, drivers and fans will certainly be watching closely.
