Nico Rosberg Defends Oliver Bearman Amid F1 Ban Threat, Calls Penalty Undeserved

Nico Rosberg has strongly defended Haas driver Oliver Bearman following the Italian Grand Prix, arguing that his 10-second penalty was undeserved and has placed him precariously close to an F1 race ban.### Why it matters:Oliver Bearman received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points for a collision with Carlos Sainz at Monza. This brings his total to 10 penalty points, meaning he must navigate the next four races without further infringements to avoid a one-race suspension.### The incident:The collision occurred at the Turn 4/5 chicane. Sainz attempted an overtake around the outside, while Bearman remained on the inside, defending his position. Contact resulted in both drivers spinning, with stewards ultimately deeming Bearman at fault.### Rosberg's perspective:The 2016 World Champion firmly believes Sainz should have granted Bearman more space. "Oliver Bearman has half a car's length in there, half a car's length! It's not like he has just a front wing in there or something," Rosberg told Sky F1. "That's a significant amount of car in there. Why doesn't Carlos Sainz just leave a bit of space? Give me a reason. He's in there, so leave some space, and then nothing happens and it's all good."### Wider agreement:British racing driver Jamie Chadwick echoed Rosberg's sentiment, stating the 10-second penalty for Bearman was unfair. She suggested the incident could have been entirely avoided if Sainz had provided more room, drawing parallels to a similar midfield clash between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson at the same chicane.### What's next:Bearman now faces a critical period. Should he accumulate two more penalty points across the upcoming races in Azerbaijan, Singapore, the United States, or Mexico, he will be handed a one-race ban.