The F1 driver left sweating about race ban until November

Oliver Bearman is now the F1 driver most at risk of earning a race ban following his Italian Grand Prix tangle with Carlos Sainz.

The Haas driver picked up two more penalty points for colliding with Sainz’s Williams as the pair battled for position at the second chicane at Monza.

Both drivers were sent spinning but were able to continue in the race, with Bearman deemed to be at fault and slapped with a 10-second time penalty.

"Car 55 [Sainz] attempted to overtake Car 87 [Bearman]  on the outside into Turn 4 and had its front axle ahead of the front axle of Car 87 at the apex, thereby earning the right to the racing line,” the stewards said.

"The driver of Car 87 defended his position on the inside instead of giving up the position and caused the collision.

"The Stewards determine that the driver of Car 87 is predominantly at fault and therefore the standard penalty for such incidents is applied."

Although the penalty made no difference to Bearman’s finishing position of 12th, the two penalty points added to his superlicence are significant.

It means the 20-year-old Briton is now on 10 penalty points and is in danger of a race ban.

If a driver reaches 12 points over a 12-month period, they trigger an automatic race ban for the following race.

Former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen became the first driver to reach the unwanted milestone when he was forced to sit out of last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Bearman called up as his replacement.

Bearman will now have to walk a tightrope for much of the remaining races of the season, with his next penalty points not expiring until 3 November just before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Where Oliver Bearman picked up his points

Bearman earned his first F1 penalty points last season for a collision with Franco Colapinto during a stand-in appearance in Brazil when he replaced the ill Magnussen.

Two more came at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix for overtaking under red flags during practice.

Bearman was then given four penalty points for crashing at the pit lane entry under red flag conditions during final practice at Silverstone.

The latest points from Monza have taken Bearman up to 10 and on the verge of being banned.