The FIA has clarified how it determined Oliver Bearman did not reach the finishing line in time for his final flying lap to count in Q1.
Bearman’s Haas team said they were certain he was wrongly prevented from taking part in Q2 at Imola after the preceding session was red-flagged.He completed his final lap in Q1 around the same time Franco Colapinto crashed at Tamburello. The session was red-flagged in response to the Alpine driver’s crash but confusion arose as to whether Bearman had completed his lap before the session was neutralised.
The FOM timing graphics initially showed Bearman’s lap had been registered and moved him up the order, pushing Gabriel Bortoleto into the bottom five ‘drop zone’. The graphics later changed to show Bearman’s lap had not counted and Bortoleto took the final place in Q2 instead of the Haas driver.
The FIA later announced Bearman’s lap was “under review”. However Q2 began without the Haas driver, Bortoleto continuing in the session.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu is convinced Bearman should have been allowed to continue in the session and wants an explanation from the stewards.
“The wind changed for Q1 so it was difficult, but I felt Ollie reacted very well to that, and to do a lap time like 1’16.077, that’s a very good lap,” he said. “That lap time was deleted however as race control deems that the red flag came out before he crossed the line.
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“Our view is different. We have various [pieces of] evidence to back it up, so we’re talking to the stewards about it, but nothing changes this qualifying result. We’d like to understand how they came to that conclusion and are sticking to it.”
The FIA initially announced Q2 would begin at 4:46pm following the clear-up at Tamburello, then postponed it further to 4:58pm. “Clearly, they were discussing and debating it as the start of Q2 was delayed,” said Komatsu.
“For us, there’s overwhelming evidence to say that his lap time should’ve stood, so that’s our position currently, but with transparency we’d like to talk to the stewards about it.”
Haas have not indicated what evidence they have. However footage from Bearman’s onboard camera appears to show only the red lights indicating the end of the session time were displayed as he crossed the finishing line and the red lights representing the red flag appeared later.
Bearman said he was surprised his lap time was deleted. “From our side, quali went well and I have no clue what happened for me not to be in Q2,” he said.
“I didn’t see a red flag before I [passed] the chequered flag, and the team saw the same from all the views they had, so I don’t know why my lap time wasn’t reinstated.”
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According to the FIA, the red flag for Colapinto’s crash was signalled at 17.6 seconds past 4:32pm. Bearman crossed the finishing line at 20.9 seconds past.
A spokesperson for the sport’s governing body added “the abort signal / red flag [was] showing on the start gantry” when Bearman crossed the line.
“Qualifying Two was delayed to enable the stewards to consult the relevant timing experts and examine the underlining data to satisfy themselves that the timing system data was valid and it was therefore right to proceed,” they added.
“The overriding objective was to determine whether or not Bearman had completed the lap before or after the red flag and whether the lap should be disallowed, to ensure the right drivers progressed to Qualifying Two.”
Update: Haas still seeking answers from FIA over red flag call which caused Bearman’s Q1 exit
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Jere (@jerejj)
17th May 2025, 18:21
Telling from the T-cam view was difficult due to the kink before the timing line, hence, the light panel flashing red only appears on view after he’d crossed the timing line, so the key is whether he crossed the timing line before the actual red deployment, which was unclear at the time.
A big mess-up by the FIA if he indeed beat the red appearance.
M2X
17th May 2025, 18:50
Terrible mess from the FIA.
When you can’t get the basics right, how do you expect everyone concerned you can get the complicated things right.
Ferdi
18th May 2025, 9:27
I am not sure they are concerned about getting things right. So far no indication of them wanting to be a neutral referee has been demonstrated the last couple of years. They seem to serve their own political interests primarily.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
17th May 2025, 20:06
I’m amazed there was any uncertainty about it because the timing system they have now will tell them the exact moment the red flag was thrown and the exact moment Bearman passed the timing line and given how the flag system is linked to the timing system they should have been able to immediately see if the lap was valid or not.
And even in the event that primary system fails they have backup systems both in terms of a timing sensor at the line, A high motion camera at the line with exact time-codes overlayed on the video & still images that can be printed from it, They will have the onboard camera feed (Where in some cases you can see the flag lights on the wheel & LCD screen which also displays flag data) as well as the tracking data which again is synced to the flag system.
The only thing that I can think happened is that the system worked as intended (In deleting the lap time) but then human intervention (Maybe Haas requesting a review) caused them to second guess the system. But even then again with the systems and data they have and how it’s all synced even if that was the case it should take no more than 5 minutes at most (Realistically less than that) to see exactly where Bearman was when the flag was called.
I’m honestly just baffled there was any debate after a few minutes.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
17th May 2025, 20:23
@gt-racer The reason there is debate is because the FIA’s position is contradicted by events on track. In addition to Bearman’s on-board camera defending Haas’ position, if the signal to red flag had been sent before Bearman crossed the line, then physics means that the race director’s signal should have beaten Bearman’s to the timing tower (in fact, it should have beaten it by slightly more than the real gap, because the race director’s office is where the timing equipment is based). That did not happen, as is clearly visible on the FOM system displayed on TV.
Haas could not have requested a review before the initial removal of Bearman’s time. The first human intervention was to remove Bearman’s time.
This was an extremely easy case and the FIA flubbed it so badly that it has discredited any further attempt on the FIA’s part to time close competitions on F1 weekends.
S Arkazam
18th May 2025, 9:35
You are technically right about the delay due to distances.
But as data moves pretty fast and vision at the speed of light, you need some 700 million metres of cable to cause a 3.3sec delay.
It is possible though that either there was a human step in between which caused a delay (would be stupid though), or the flashing red LED panel was in the off part of a flash cycle when it came into view.
SteveP
18th May 2025, 12:27
FIA
BasCB (@bascb)
18th May 2025, 13:25
Yeah, it really should be a simple comparison of the timestamp on the red flag and on Bearman crossing the line. Baffling it took this long to decide really
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
17th May 2025, 20:20
Bearman’s onboard flatly contradicts the FIA’s statement about the pit gantry showing the red flag before Bearman crossed the line. What recourse does Haas have for a stewarding panel that is on record as having either missed obvious evidence, or having outright lied?
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
17th May 2025, 21:41
I doubt there’s any recourse. It’s probably one of those ‘computer says ‘no’
I think Haas did get paid from Sepang with the drain cover that wasn’t their fault. But the FIA never accepted any fault, it was the circuit. The best they can probably hope for is a letter saying FIA says no.
anon
18th May 2025, 10:13
@bernasaurus in that situation, Haas’s insurance company chose to take direct action against the circuit itself, with the circuit subsequently admitting that it was their workmanship that was at fault (due to the drain cover being welded down incorrectly). In that situation, it would be fair to say that the circuit was the one at fault if they were the ones who did something incorrectly to begin with.
Jakob C
17th May 2025, 21:28
I would love to see the evidence the FIA is working with because my own two eyes didn’t lie to me.
skydiverian (@skydiverian)
18th May 2025, 6:39
I didn’t get to see qualifying today but I’ll take the Racer.com viewpoint that the FIA either used the start/finish line and not the timing line to determine his position (which is apparently backed up by the onboard camera), or the lights came on 5 seconds after the red flag was called. Which has never happened before.
We’re way beyond the FIA itself being regulated but if this is how it played out then it’s yet more evidence that the FIA is not up to the job and needs to be replaced or independently crosschecked.
Rob (@standbyexp)
18th May 2025, 8:40
Anthony Davidson’s analysis of the onboard footage demonstrated that this is false. The end of session red lights were showing, but the red flag lights didn’t come on until after Bearman had crossed the timing line.
Rod
18th May 2025, 8:54
I’ve served as a meeting director at numerous race events. In our operations, the red button used to stop a session was a large emergency-style button, covered by a flip-up protector to prevent accidental activation. To trigger it, you had to lift the cover and physically press the button.
Once pressed, the system would immediately activate the red lights and halt the timing system. Curious about the precision, I once tested how quickly the timing actually stopped. Although the official results are published to the nearest 1/1000th of a second, the underlying system was capable of measuring to 1/100,000th of a second. When the red button was hit, it would cut off any recorded lap within that 1/100,000th of a second window.
I would expect Formula 1 to operate at a similar, if not even higher, level of precision. That’s why I’m baffled by scenarios where a “Stop Session” red flag or light is issued, and yet lap times posted afterward are still allowed. If the lap was completed before the red flag, the time would count. But if the red flag was triggered even just 1/1,000th of a second before the car crossed the line, the lap should be automatically invalidated.
The system never required manual deletion of laps.
It’s not subjective. It’s black and white.
What occurred with Bearman goes against everything I have experienced with racing timing systems.
Drop Saudi
18th May 2025, 11:55
I suspect a steward saw the end of session red lights and made an embarrassing mistake…
BasCB (@bascb)
18th May 2025, 13:28
Thanks for that insight Rod. That is exactly how I imagined it works and it would make perfect sense that the FIA has pretty much the same, but possibly with some redundant cabling etc to make it even more reliable. Really strange they took so much time to be sure.