How many penalty points does each F1 driver have?

F1
- Last updated: April 13th 2022

Lance Stroll now joint-tops the list with the most penalty points. See the full list of F1 drivers who have been awarded points for on-track transgressions

Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) during practice for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park, Melbourne. Photo: Grand Prix Photo

The 2022 Australian GP saw a number of penalty points being handed out

Grand Prix Photo

Author

James Elson

The penalty point system was first introduced into Formula 1 in 2014 as a deterrent from dangerous driving by competitors, not only in the race but also across qualifying and practice sessions.

Points are given for transgressions such as causing an incident, dangerously blocking another competitor or driving in an unsafe manner in the pitlane.

If a driver reaches 12 points they will be suspended for one race, after which the tally is set to 0. Points also expire after 12 months.

No driver has ever reached the 12 point maximum, but some drivers are racing up the charts. At the championship’s last race in Australia, an incident-strewn weekend for Lance Stroll meant accrued 3 points, his total is now 8.

This is equal with Yuki Tsunoda whose eventful debut year saw him handed penalty points on five separate occasions.

See our table below for how many points each driver has and what they were awarded for.

Date
Event
Points awarded
Reason
Yuki Tsunoda    8 points
18 Apr 2021 Emilia Romagna GP 1 Leaving the track without a justifiable reason multiple times (qualifying)
27 Jun 2021 Styrian GP 1 Impeding Valtteri Bottas
4 Jul 2021 Austrian GP 1 Crossing the white line at pitlane entry
1 Crossing the white line at pitlane entry again.
14 Nov 2021 Sáo Paolo GP 2 Collision with Lance Stroll.
5 Dec 2021 Saudi Arabian GP 2 Collision with Sebastian Vettel
Lance Stroll    8 points
18 Apr 2021 Emilia Romagna GP 1 Leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage passing Pierre Gasly
1 Aug 2021 Hungarian GP 2 Causing an avoidable collision
26 Sep 2021 Russian GP 2 Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly
9 Apr 2022 Australian GP 1 More than one change of direction when defending
10 Apr 2022 2 Causing a collision with Nicholas Latifi
Sergio Perez    7 points
18 Apr 2021 Emilia Romagna GP 2 Overtaking two cars during safety car period
4 Jul 2021 Austrian GP 2 Forcing Charles Leclerc off track
2 Forcing Charles Leclerc off track again
12 Sep 2021 Italian GP 1 Leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage
Max Verstappen    7 points
12 Sep 2021 Italian GP 2 Collision with Lewis Hamilton
21 Nov 2021 Qatar GP 2 Failure to respect double yellow flag (qualifying)
5 Dec 2021 Saudi Arabian GP 1 Leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage
1 Braking in a manner which caused a collision with Lewis Hamilton
Nicholas Latifi    6 points
6 June 2021 Azerbaijan GP 3 Failure to enter pit lane as instructed during the safety car period
4 July 2021 Austrian GP 3 Failure to respect double yellow flag
Nikita Mazepin    6 points
2 May 2021 Portuguese GP 1 Failure to respect blue flag and impeding Sergio Perez
8 May 2021 Spanish GP 1 Impeding Lando Norris (qualifying)
4 Jul 2021 Austrian GP 3 Failure to respect double yellow flags
12 Sep 2021 Italian GP 1 Causing a collision with Mick Schumacher
Lando Norris    5 points
27 Jun 2021 Azerbaijan GP 3 Failure to observe a red flag (qualifying)
Austrian GP 2 Forcing Sergio Perez off track
Valtteri Bottas    3 points
1 Aug 2021 Styrian GP 2 Dangerous driving in the pitlane
1 Aug 2021 Hungarian GP 2 Causing an avoidable collision
21 Nov 2021 Qatar GP 1 Failure to respect single yellow flag (qualifying)
Pierre Gasly    3 points
9 May 2021 Spanish GP 2 Out of position at start of race
10 Oct 2021 Turkish GP 1 Causing a collision with Fernando Alonso
Antonio Giovinazzi    3 points
4 Jul 2021 Austrian GP 2 Overtaking during safety car period
12 Sep 2021 Italian GP 1 Rejoining the track in an unsafe manner
Esteban Ocon    3 points
12 Sep 2021 Italian GP 1 Causing a collision with Sebastian Vettel
20 Mar 2022 Bahrain GP 2 Causing a collision with Mick Schumacher
Fernando Alonso    2 points
10 Oct 2021 Turkish GP 2 Causing a collision with Mick Schumacher
Kimi Räikkönen    2 points
4 Jul 2021 Austrian GP 2 Causing a collision with Sebastian Vettel
Lewis Hamilton    2 points
British GP 2 Causing a collision with Max Verstappen
Alex Albon    2 points
27 Mar 2022 Saudi Arabian GP 2 Causing a collision with Lance Stroll
George Russell    1 point
17 Jul 2021 British GP 1 Causing a collision with Carlos Sainz (sprint qualifying)
Sebastian Vettel    1 point
3 Jul 2021 Austrian GP 1 Impeding Fernando Alonso (qualifying)
Daniel Ricciardo    1 point
27 Mar 2022 Saudi Arabian GP 1 Impeding Esteban Ocon (qualifying)
Zhou Guanyu    1 point
27 Mar 2022 Saudi Arabian GP 1 Leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage

Related article

Tsunoda’s eventful debut season saw him rack up more penalty points than anyone, with crashes and errors a plenty taking his total to eight. The AlphaTauri man managed to cross the pitlane entry line twice in Austria, as well as colliding with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll on separate occasions.

Max Verstappen’s combative journey to the title last season meant he picked up seven points, equal with now-team-mate Sergio Perez – four of the Dutchman’s points were given for incidents with Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes driver accruing just two after the collision with his 2021 title rival at Silverstone.

Nikita Mazepin’s torrid season saw him garner six points, the same as Nicholas Latifi.

The drivers to so far have none on their licence are Charles Leclerc, his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, plus the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher.

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