Nico Rosberg disagrees with Italian Grand Prix steward decision as F1 driver closes in on race ban

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Oliver Bearman is now close to being handed a one-race ban after his on-track skirmish with Carlos Sainz during the Italian Grand Prix.

The pair collided midway through the Italian GP when Sainz attempted to overtake Bearman at the Turn 4 chicane, with the Haas driver tagging the rear left of the Williams and sending them both spinning.

Analysing the incident, the stewards deemed that Sainz had earned the right to the racing line because his front axle was ahead of Bearman’s front axle at the apex. They also felt the Haas driver should have given up the position instead of defending, thereby leading to the penalty.

However, when discussing the incident on Sky Sports F1 (16:35 07/09), 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg explained why he felt the stewards got the call incorrect.

Nico Rosberg thinks Carlos Sainz should have been penalised for Italian GP incident

Sainz was the subject of a contentious penalty during the Dutch GP when the stewards penalised him for a collision with Liam Lawson, something Williams is currently trying to overturn.

However, in the case of what happened in Monza, Rosberg believes the stewards got the call wrong and should have penalised the Spaniard instead of Bearman because of the position of the Haas driver.

“Carlos Sainz needs to get a penalty! Oliver Bearman has half a car’s length in there, half a car’s length,” said Rosberg.

“It’s not like he just has a front wing in there or something; he has a significant amount of car in there. Why doesn’t Sainz just leave the space? He’s in there, so leave some space.”

The FIA racing guidelines dictate that an attacking car is entitled to space and must have their car ahead of the front axle of the other car at the apex when overtaking on the outside of a corner.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman? Everything to know

How far away from a race ban is Oliver Bearman?

Bearman’s penalty led to him also receiving two penalty points on his FIA superlicence, which now puts him close to a one-race ban.

The Haas driver is now on 10 penalty points in a 12-month period, which puts him just two penalty points away from the 12 penalty points needed to trigger an automatic race ban.

Bearman’s next points do not expire until the start of November in another four race weekends, which would reduce his total to eight points.

The last driver to receive a one-race ban was former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, who was replaced by Bearman when he served his ban at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last season.