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The F1 Penalty points system was first introduced in the sport in 2014. The inception of the system was to keep the driving standards in the sport above a threshold. As a part of the system, if drivers commit a transgression, they're handed out penalty points. The severity of these penalty points is entirely dependent on the transgression.
If a driver ends up accruing 12 F1 penalty points, he gets banned for a race. This was what happened with Kevin Magnussen last season as the Danish driver became the first to be banned due to this system. As we move on from the F1 Chinese GP, who are the top 5 delinquents on the current grid? Let's take a look.
F1 Penalty Points: Who is close to a ban?
#5 Jack Doohan
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Penalty Points: 4
Jack Doohan was on the naughty step far too many times during the Chinese GP. The driver has accrued 4 F1 penalty points during the race weekend.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Gabriel Bortoleto at the 2025 Chinese GP Sprint (expires on March 22, 2026)
- Two points: Pushing Isack Hadjar off the track at the 2025 Chinese GP Sprint (expires on March 23, 2026)
#4. 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)
#3. Lance Stroll
Penalty Points: 4
Stroll has accumulated four F1 penalty points in the past 12 months.
- Two points: Causing a collision with Alex Albon at the 2024 Qatar GP (expires on December 2, 2025)
- Two points: Causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the 2024 Chinese GP (expires on April 21, 2025)
#2. Fernando Alonso
Penalty Points: 8
Fernando Alonso has collected eight F1 penalty points so far, including two for his divebomb on Zhou Guanyu 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 2024 F1 Chinese GP Sprint (expires on April 20, 2025)
- Three points: "Potentially dangerous driving" against George Russell at the 2024 Australian GP (expires on March 24, 2025)
#1. Max Verstappen
Penalty Points: 8
Verstappen has eight penalty points now, with the Dutch driver accruing two more for his collision with Oscar Piastri.
- One point: Driving unnecessarily in the 2024 F1 Qatar GP (expires on December 1, 2025)
- 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)
- Two points: Causing a collision with Oscar Piastri at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (expires on December 12, 2025)
