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Topics: Formula 1, Oscar Piastri
Josh Lawless
A Formula One driver is at risk of a race ban following on from the FIA clarifying the situation with McLaren's Oscar Piastri following on from the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Piastri, who now finds himself 24 points behind teammate Lando Norris in the drivers' standings following in from the race in Sao Paulo, where the Brit took pole position ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.
Piastri, who has led the way for large chunks of the 2025 season, has faltered at an important stage in recent times.
He crashed out in the sprint race at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace and then finished fifth in the Grand Prix on Sunday, where he was handed a 10-second penalty after colliding with Antonelli's Mercedes in a lock-up on Turn 1 at the restart following on from Gabriel Bortoleto's dangerous crash.
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The contact led to Antonelli hitting Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who ultimately had to retire from the race because of the damage.
FIA confirmed Piastri's punishment but had to clarify their initial statement as they wrongly wrote that the Australian had garnered eight penalty points as opposed to six.
In F1, totalling 12 penalty points within a 12-month period automatically results in a one-race ban for a driver.
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But while Piastri is still a bit away from that, one driver isn't far off being hit with a race suspension because of penalties issued.
Oliver Bearman of Haas was deemed to have driven dangerously and not left sufficient room for Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson on the opening lap of the sprint in Sao Paulo.
The two were involved in an incident which resulted in both being hit with five-second penalties, though it didn't impact the race result as Bearman came 12th and Lawson was four places behind in 16th.
However, it could be bad news for Bearman as he added another penalty point on his super licence.
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Since May, the 20-year-old has accumulated nine points and is just three away from a race ban if he reaches the total in the next 11 F1 races.
Bearman was hit with four penalty points for crashing in the pit lane at Silverstone after red flag having also collected two penalty points for a similar scenario when he overtook under red flag conditions during practice in Monaco.
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His collision with Carlos Sainz in Monza added a further two before his latest point was added on from the Brazilian GP.
Under the current system, the last driver to be banned for a race for reaching 12 penalty points in a 12-month period was also from Haas as Kevin Magnussen was banned from competing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2024.
He became the first driver to be banned since Romain Grosjean in 2012 and ironically, Bearman was the driver who stepped in to replace him.