Oliver Bearman’s Miami F1 Sprint comeback undone by penalty, Yuki Tsunoda takes final point. Oliver Bearman loses eighth place and a valuable point in the Miami Sprint .

Oliver Bearman, one of the stars of the Miami Sprint with a great comeback from last place, loses eighth position (and the point) due to a penalty for an unsafe release during the tyre change to slicks. As a result, Haas finishes outside the points, while Tsunoda takes advantage and enters the top 8.

Starting from the back of the grid, Oliver Bearman was one of the standout performers in the Miami Sprint Race, initially finishing eighth after a brilliant recovery in which he overtook several drivers one after another, including teammate Esteban Ocon.

However, that eighth place—which also meant earning a single but valuable point in the constructors’ standings—was taken away after the race due to a penalty for an unsafe release during the tyre change to slicks.

During the pit stop phase after mid-race, when the track was drying enough to allow the use of dry tyres, Oliver Bearman was released from his pit box almost simultaneously with the arrival of Hülkenberg, who was also stopping. The Sauber driver was forced to brake to avoid a collision, but even more critically, Williams mechanics had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by Oliver Bearman, who swerved toward the inside of the pit lane to avoid Hülkenberg.

Oliver Bearman had initially been classified in eighth, partly thanks to a 10-second penalty given to Max Verstappen for another unsafe release, but the five-second penalty he received dropped him to 15th place, just ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, Hülkenberg’s teammate at Sauber.

In their official statement, FIA stewards justified the 5-second penalty as follows: “Car 87 was released into the path of car 27, which was entering the pit lane, forcing it to brake and take evasive action.”

It’s a heavy blow for Haas, especially on a day when Alex Albon managed to take advantage of the chaos to secure an excellent fourth place, helping Williams extend their lead in the standings.

Thanks to this penalty, Yuki Tsunoda moves up to eighth place, securing at least one point for Red Bull in Saturday’s race, despite the penalty handed to Verstappen. Yuki Tsunoda had been the first to switch to slicks after starting from the pit lane.

Two decisions are still pending: one involving a safety car infringement by Alex Albon and another regarding contact between Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso, which could further alter the final race results.