F1 penalty points: Which drivers are closest to receiving a one-race ban?

Henry Valantine 22 Jul 2024 5:05 AM

Each driver needs to ensure they stay under the threshold of 12 penalty points throughout an F1 season.

The use of penalty points in F1 has become increasingly liberal this season, and that is playing out with more drivers getting closer to the race ban threshold.

Kevin Magnussen has moved ahead of Logan Sargeant and Sergio Perez at the top of the standings on 10, but he will have none of his points removed until next March, so he needs to be extremely careful to not get two added to his Super Licence for the remainder of the season.

What are penalty points used for in Formula 1?

Formula 1’s penalty points system is in place to keep driver behaviour under control, in the same way as regular road users, with 12 points on their FIA Super Licence over a 12-month period resulting in a one-race ban.

Penalty points are issued for driver transgressions, with the amount varying depending on the severity of the incident and, once a year has passed since that particular offence, their points get wiped, meaning they have to be careful to avoid crossing that fateful 12-point threshold.

As mentioned, Magnussen has to be extremely careful about not adding more points to his Super Licence for the rest of the season, while mercifully, for the first time in a long while, some points started to fall away from other drivers after the Monaco Grand Prix, with George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda falling further away the 12-point line.

Esteban Ocon was the only driver punished with penalty points in Monaco after his high-profile collision with Pierre Gasly, but after Magnussen and Sergio Perez made contact on the first lap, there are those who believe Magnussen could count himself lucky that the incident was not investigated – with the stewards often offering more leeway on lap-one contact.

After two penalty point-less races, more penalty points were handed out in Austria – with Max Verstappen, Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso all handed more on their licences.

None were given at Silverstone, however, with Lance Stroll having two fall away from his licence, and a similar clean bill of health took place at Hungary a fortnight later.

10 penalty points

Kevin Magnussen

Three points: Expire 9th March 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Alex Albon during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 21st April 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda during the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
Three points: Expire 4th May 2025. These were awarded for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on multiple occasions during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix Sprint as additional ‘aggravating circumstances’, following multiple time penalties.
Two points: Expire 5th May 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Logan Sargeant during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

Eight penalty points

Fernando Alonso

Three points: Expire 24th March 2025. These were awarded for ‘potentially dangerous driving’ against George Russell during the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
Three points: Expire 20th April 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz during the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint.
Two points: Expire 30th June 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Zhou Guanyu during the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez

One point: Expires 17th September 2024. This was awarded for causing a collision with Alex Albon during the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 24th September 2024. These were awarded for overtaking Fernando Alonso under Safety Car conditions at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 24th September 2024. These were awarded for causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 26th November 2024. These were awarded for causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
One point: Expires 9th March 2025. This was awarded for an unsafe release in the pit lane during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Logan Sargeant

Two points: Expire 3rd September 2024. These were awarded for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas during the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 24th September 2024. These were awarded for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 28th October 2024. These were awarded for a failure to comply with a yellow flag during qualifying for the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 21st April 2025. These were awarded for overtaking under Safety Car conditions at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.

Five penalty points

Lance Stroll

Three points: Expire 17th November 2024. These were issued for overtaking under yellow flag conditions at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 21st April 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.

Four penalty points

Lewis Hamilton

Two points: Expire 29th July 2024. These were given for causing a collision with Sergio Perez during the sprint at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 3rd September 2024. These were given for causing a collision with Oscar Piastri during the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen

Two points: Expire 19th November 2024. These were issued for forcing Charles Leclerc off track during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 30th June 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.

Three penalty points

Esteban Ocon

One point: Expires 4th May 2025. This was issued for an unsafe release during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix Sprint.
Two points: Expire 26th May 2025. These were issued for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly during the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.

Two penalty points

Valtteri Bottas

Two points: Expire 29th October 2024. Having had a clean licence all season, Bottas finally sullied his record for 2023 by picking up two penalty points after being found predominantly to blame for a collision between himself and Lance Stroll during the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo

Two points: Expire 21st April 2025. These were awarded for overtaking Nico Hulkenberg under Safety Car conditions at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.

George Russell

Two points: Expire 19th November 2024. These were issued for causing a collision with Max Verstappen at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Yuki Tsunoda

Two points: Expire August 27th 2024. These were awarded for causing a collision with George Russell during the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.

One penalty point

Carlos Sainz

One point: Expires 5th May 2025. This was issued for causing a collision with Oscar Piastri during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

F1 penalty points: Which drivers are closest to receiving a one-race ban?

What are penalty points used for in Formula 1?