Ollie Bearman has criticised the FIA stewards for what he has deemed to be a "totally unfair" call that has left him starting last on the back row of the grid for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Bearman was at the centre of a bizarre end to the opening qualifying session at Imola after Franco Colapinto crashed on his debut session with Alpine.
The Haas driver crossed the line just as the red flags were deployed, leading to his lap being deleted and missing out on a place in Q2.
The decision was questioned by Haas, but following a lengthy review, the initial decision stood, allowing Stake's Gabriel Bortoleto to progress and Bearman lining up 19th.
"We get the red light on our dash, and that, for me, didn't happen until quite a way after I crossed the line," said Bearman, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, before the FIA explained its decision almost three hours after qualifying ended.
"Watching the outboard video, it was clear there was no red flag displayed when I crossed the line, so I believe it's totally unfair to have it [the lap] deleted.
"I feel like once they [the stewards] make a decision, even if it's wrong, even if it's clearly wrong, they're not going to turn back on it, and that seems a bit harsh."
Bearman was also perplexed as to why the FIA took a considerable period before making its call.
"I don't know what took them 10 minutes to understand," said Bearman. "It's a clear-cut case, in my opinion, and from what I saw, it was extremely clear. Unfortunately, not for them."
As to whether he felt frustrated sitting in the cockpit of his car in the garage whilst the situation was deliberated, he said: "I wasn't, honestly.
"I was quite sure about what would happen because I know how these people work in a way. I was quite sure that the second my lap was deleted, there was no way I was coming back."
The FIA later confirmed the reason behind its decision, stating there was a 3.3s gap between the red flags being shown and Bearman crossing the line.
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