Qualifying at the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix faced a lengthy delay after Franco Colapinto’s crash at the end of Q1, though not because of the clean-up job following the Alpine driver’s off.
Colapinto was making his first appearance for the French manufacturer after taking over from Jack Doohan alongside Pierre Gasly but, pushing to ensure his place in Q2, the Argentine lost control and crashed on the exit of Tamburello.
Red flags were shown on the timing screen just after Oliver Bearman put his Haas into Q2 from 19th position, yet when the times were shown with cars in the pits, the Briton was considered out.
Haas protested and the race control reviewed the situation before deciding that Bearman was out, though the saga isn’t over yet even after the race weekend.
Bearman forced out of qualifying
When Bearman crossed the line, he jumped up the order and pushed Gabriel Bortoleto down the order.
But with the official timing screens reverting to show he was eliminated, Haas queried the standings with the FIA. On the world TV broadcast, Bearman’s lap was logged before the red flag graphic was shown, so more investigation was needed.
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With credit to the FIA, a pause to proceedings followed so that the situation could be properly reviewed. It was a breath of fresh air that there was the peace of mind to make sure everything was in order, especially after the shambles that saw Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg wrongly participate in Q2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix after exceeding track limits in Q1 there, the German retrospectively penalised.
For those watching the broadcast, a replay was shown of Bearman crossing the line as the chequered flag flew to signal the end of the session but, as is usual with F1 qualifying, drivers are allowed to finish any laps started before the clock hits zero. So that’s fine.
A few seconds after he crosses the timing line, the red flag illuminates on the marshalling panels, suggesting Bearman had beaten the stoppage to set his lap.
But after the delay for review, Gabriel Bortoleto, who would have been eliminated by Bearman, took to the track to begin Q2 and Haas was forced to stand down.
In an explanation, the FIA said: “The red flag was set at 16:32.17.6 seconds. Bearman crossed the line at 16:32.20.9 seconds with the abort signal / red flag showing on the start gantry.
“Qualifying 2 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.
“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 2.”
So after review, the red flag condition had been set three seconds before Bearman crossed the timing line to complete his lap, though that contradicts the images shown as he crosses the line.
That’s not to say that it means the FIA are incorrect in its decision – various factors can explain the difference, including the fact that the lights may have come on late compared to the red flag being called. Marshals could have manually waved a red flag before the panels illuminated, for example.
But it is something that Haas has asked for clarity for after discussions with the FIA at Imola following qualifying, not necessarily because it can change the result of what happened.
Rather the team wants to avoid a repeat scenario in the future for the good of F1 and the fans. Total-Motorsport understands that there is no timeframe on a further response from the championship’s governing body.
The incident ultimatelty had no impact on Haas’ weekend as both Bearman and Esteban Ocon retired from the race.
