Martin Brundle says F1 driver's 'crazy' actions could've led to British GP DQ
Oliver Bearman was lucky he wasn't disqualified from the British Grand Prix after his Final Practice shocker - and that the youngster has changes to the rule book to thank for being allowed to continue at Silverstone this weekend.
Bearman admitted he was angry with himself after a 10-place grid penalty meant a superb qualifying performance at his first British Grand Prix largely went to waste.
Bearman was handed the grid-drop - along with a hefty four penalty points - after losing control of his car and crashing on entry to the pit lane in final practice. The FIA ruled that Bearman had accelerated back to race speed under red-flag conditions, following Gabriel Bortoleto's crash, and was travelling at 160mph when he spun into the barriers.
He gave the perfect response by finishing 8th in qualifying, but it means he starts Sunday's race in 18th.
'Of course, I'm really disappointed in myself because I've let my team down today,' Bearman said. 'I didn't account for the cold brakes and tyres. A silly error, one that shouldn't happen at this level.
'I'm angry at myself and very sad, but I'm glad at least that we could show the good thing today was that we have a quick car in qualifying trim, which hasn't been the case more recently.'
Interestingly, Bearman's four penalty points means he now has a total of eight against his name - four more will mean a race ban. Asked if he was shocked to receive four points, Bearman said: 'Yes, but let's move on.'
However, Brundle had no sympathy for the 20 year-old.
'That was crazy,' Brundle said. 'You're going past a red flashing panel and accelerating like crazy to try to pit in. The stewards' report said he was even faster on that trial pit in than he was on an earlier trial. That's why they've hit him so hard.
'There are decades past where you'd have been sent home for something like that, disqualified from the event.
"He wasn't meaning any harm, but you can't start trying to test the pit-lane [entry] when there are red panels flashing at you.'
Bearman's eighth was the highest qualifying position of his career.
'We actually had a very, very strong qualifying and the car was feeling great, the best it's ever felt for me,' Bearman said. 'We bought an upgrade this weekend and clearly it's showing potential because our qualifying pace has not been fantastic recently and now to be in Q3 on merit is a good feeling.
'I'm really proud of the team for bringing a successful upgrade. If we have a car that's P8 in qualifying, it means we have a very quick race car because normally our qualifying car is not quite as fast as our race car."
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