F1 Penalty Points: Drivers' penalty points before the Qatar GP
The F1 penalty points system was first introduced in 2014 by the FIA to keep driving standards above a certain threshold. As part of the system, points were given on the basis of driver transgressions. These violations could be anything from dangerous driving, causing a collision, pushing a driver off track, etc.
This season, ahead of the F1 race in Baku, Kevin Magnussen became the first driver to face a race ban under this system. The Danish driver had accrued as many as 12 F1 penalty points in the last 12 months and hence had to miss the race. As we head to the race in Qatar, how do the drivers stack up in terms of F1 penalty points? Let's take a look.
F1 Penalty points before the Qatar GP
#1. Lewis Hamilton
Penalty Points: 0
Hamilton has a clean slate in the last 12 months.
#2. George Russell
Penalty Points: 0
Russell has zero penalty points to his name now.
#3. Max Verstappen
Penalty Points: 5
Verstappen has five penalty points, with the latest coming at the Brazilian GP after his incident with Lando Norris.
- One point: VSC infringement in the 2024 F1 Brazilian GP Sprint (expires on November 2, 2025)
- Two points: Forcing Lando Norris off track during the 2024 F1 Mexican GP (expires on October 28, 2025)
- Two points: Causing a collision with Norris at the 2024 F1 Austrian GP (expires on June 30, 2025)
#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 (expires 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
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, including two for his divebomb on Guanyu Zhou at the 2024 Austrian GP, which also resulted in a 10-second penalty.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Zhou Guanyu at the F1 Austrian GP (expires on June 30, 2025)
- Three points: Pushing Carlos Sainz off the track at the F1 Chinese GP Sprint (expires on April 20, 2025)
- Three points: "Potentially dangerous driving" against George Russell at the Australian GP (expires on March 24, 2025)
#10. Lance Stroll
Penalty Points: 2
Stroll has accumulated two 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 (expires on April 21, 2025)
#11. Esteban Ocon
Penalty Points: 3
Ocon got two F1 penalty points for his collision with his teammate Pierre Gasly.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Monaco GP (expires 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
Lawson has a clean slate in terms of penalty points.
#14. Yuki Tsunoda
Penalty Points: 0
Tsunoda has a clean slate after the race in Sao Paulo.
#15. Franco Colapinto
Penalty Points: 0
Colapinto has kept his slate clean as he began life as an F1 driver.
#16. Alex Albon
Penalty Points: 0
Albon doesn't have any F1 penalty points at the moment.
#17. Kevin Magnussen
Penalty Points: 0
Magnussen has a clean slate after serving his one-race 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 (expires 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: 0
Bottas has a clean slate in terms of F1 penalty points.
#20. Guanyu Zhou
Penalty Points: 0
Guanyu Zhou has a clean slate for now.