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Ollie Bearman is now two penalty points away from earning a Formula 1 race ban after the Italian Grand Prix stewards deemed him to have caused a collision with Carlos Sainz.
Bearman and Sainz collided at the dela Roggia chicane, with Bearman's Haas down the inside of Sainz's Williams. Both drivers spun and picked up damage, which ended their hopes of a points finish.
The stewards judged Bearman to be at fault, handing him a 10-second time penalty.
They said Sainz had "his front axle ahead of the front axle of [Bearman] at the apex, thereby earning the right to the racing line".
"[Bearman] defended his position on the inside instead of giving up the position and caused the collision."
In accordance with that verdict, the standard 10s penalty was issued.
That penalty did not ultimately change Bearman's finishing position of 12th, but what may prove more costly is the two penalty points he picked up for the incident.
Bearman is now the F1 driver closest to a race ban as he now sits on 10 penalty points, one more than Max Verstappen, who earlier this year was one point away from a ban.
If a driver picks up 12 - as Haas driver Kevin Magnussen did following a penalty at Monza last year, giving Bearman his second F1 start in Baku - then they are automatically banned from the next race.
That means should Bearman commit a similar offence at any of the next four races - he won't drop any penalty points until November's Brazilian GP - then he will pick up a ban.
How Bearman's picked up his points
Bearman received four penalty points for crashing under red flags in practice at the British GP in July.
Before that, he'd picked up two in Monaco for another red flag infringement, on that occasion by overtaking another car under red flags in practice.
Bearman earned his first F1 penalty points during a stand-in appearance in Brazil last year for a collision with Franco Colapinto's Williams.
Those two points from Interlagos won't expire until November 3, meaning Bearman and Haas will have a nervous next few races.
Brazilian GP 2024
Reason: Causing a collision with Franco Colapinto
Expiry: November 3, 2025
Points: 2
Monaco GP 2025
Reason: Overtaking under red flags in practice
Expiry: May 23, 2026
Points: 2
British GP 2025
Reason: Crashing under red flags in practice
Expiry: July 5, 2026
Points: 4
Italian GP 2025
Reason: Causing a collision with Carlos Sainz
Expiry: September 7, 2026
Points: 2
Total = 10
