F1 Penalty points: Drivers' penalty points before the Mexican GP
The F1 penalty points system was put in place to help prevent the driving standards from falling below a threshold. In the early 2010s, first-lap incidents happened often. There were far too many collisions as well.
What made things worse was the fact that there was no specific metric in place that could act as a check against this.
This was precisely why the F1 penalty points system was introduced, where a driver is handed penalty points for transgressions on track.
Kevin Magnussen became the first driver this season to be banned due to this system. As we head to Mexico, where do the drivers stand in terms of penalty points? Let's take a look.
F1 Penalty points before the Mexican GP
#1. Lewis Hamilton
Penalty Points: 0
Hamilton has a clean slate in the last 12 months.
#2. George Russell
Penalty Points: 2
Russell has two penalty points, which he picked up at Las Vegas in 2023.
- Two points: For causing a collision with Max Verstappen at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expire on November 19, 2024)
#3. Max Verstappen
Penalty Points: 4
Verstappen has four penalty points, with the latest coming at the Austrian GP this year for his collision with Lando Norris.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Norris at the 2024 F1 Austrian GP (expire on June 30, 2025)
- Two points: Forcing Charles Leclerc off track during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expire on November 19, 2024)
#4. Sergio Perez
Penalty Points: 3
Sergio Perez has accumulated three penalty points.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (expire on November 26, 2024)
- One point: Unsafe release in the pit lane during the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (expires on March 9, 2025)
#5. Charles Leclerc
Penalty Points: 0
Leclerc has maintained a clean slate over the last 12 months.
#6. Carlos Sainz
Penalty Points: 1
Sainz has one penalty point for the contact he made while racing Oscar Piastri in the Miami GP.
- One point: Causing a collision with Oscar Piastri at the 2024 F1 Miami GP (expires on May 5, 2025)
#7. Lando Norris
Penalty Points: 0
Lando Norris has kept a clean slate over the last 12 months.
#8. Oscar Piastri
Penalty Points: 0
Oscar Piastri was involved in a collision with Esteban Ocon in Austin last season but was not penalized and has a clean slate.
#9. Fernando Alonso
Penalty Points: 8
Alonso has collected eight F1 penalty points so far, including two for his divebomb on Guanyu Zhou at the 2024 Austrian GP, which also brought a 10-second penalty.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Zhou Guanyu at the F1 Austrian GP (expire on June 30, 2025)
- Three points: Pushing Carlos Sainz off the track at the F1 Chinese GP Sprint (expire on April 20, 2025)
- Three points: "Potentially dangerous driving" against George Russell at the Australian GP (expire on March 24, 2025)
#10. Lance Stroll
Penalty Points: 5
Stroll has accumulated five F1 penalty points in the past 12 months, with two of them coming for causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo in China.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the Chinese GP (expire on April 21, 2025)
- Three points: Overtaking under yellow flag conditions at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expire on November 17, 2024)
#11 Esteban Ocon
Penalty Points: 3
Ocon got three F1 penalty points for his collision with his teammate Pierre Gasly.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Monaco GP (expire on May 27, 2025)
- One point: Unsafe release during the Miami GP (expires on May 4, 2025)
#12 Pierre Gasly
Penalty Points: 0
Gasly doesn't have any penalty points.
#13 Liam Lawson
Penalty Points: 0
- Liam Lawson has a clean slate when it comes to penalty points.
#14 Yuki Tsunoda
Penalty Points: 0
Yuki Tsunoda has a clean slate after the race in Monza.
#15 Franco Colapinto
Penalty Points: 0
Franco Colapinto has kept his nose clean as he began life as an F1 driver.
#16 Alex Albon
Penalty Points: 0
Alex Albon doesn't have any F1 penalty points at the moment.
#17 Kevin Magnussen
Penalty Points: 0
Magnussen now has a clean slate after serving his ban.
#18 Nico Hulkenberg
Penalty Points: 4
Hulkenberg has four F1 penalty points.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix (expire on September 1, 2025)
- Two points: Causing a collision with Fernando Alonso during the 2024 Austrian GP Sprint (expires on June 29, 2025)
#19 Valtteri Bottas
Penalty Points: 2
Valtteri Bottas has two F1 penalty points.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Lance Stroll during the 2023 Mexican Grand Prix (expire on October 29, 2024)
#20 Guanyu Zhou
Penalty Points: 0
Guanyu Zhou has a clean slate for now.