The FIA has explained the bizarre circumstances behind Oliver Bearman's elimination from Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying.
Bearman completed a flying lap at the end of Q1, which was initially enough to move him safely through to Q2, but the FIA systems quickly demoted him back to P19 as a red flag had been deployed for Franco Colapinto's crash at Tamburello.
However, on-board footage appeared to show Bearman crossing the timing line before the red flags were thrown, in which case his lap would have been legal to advance to Q2, and dump Gabriel Bortoleto out.
The start of Q2 was delayed whilst the FIA investigated who was through, with investigations finding that Bearman missed the line by 3.3s, with Bortoleto thus advancing through to Q2.
The full statement is below.
FIA statement in full
"In relation to the Oliver Bearman situation in Q1, 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 underlying 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."
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