F1 penalty points: 5 biggest delinquents ahead of the 2025 season

The F1 penalty points system was put in place by the FIA to help prevent the driving standards from falling below a threshold. This was a reaction to the stark drop experienced in the sport in the early 2010s. In the early 2010s, first lap incidents happened often.

There were far too many collisions as well during the race, with drivers like Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado making a habit out of it. To make things worse, 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 in 2014, where a driver was handed penalty points for transgressions on track. Kevin Magnussen became the first driver last season to be banned due to this system. With the F1 pre-season test in Bahrain now done and dusted, who are the top five delinquents on the grid in terms of penalty points? Let's take a look.

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F1 Penalty Points: Who is close to a ban?

#5. Esteban Ocon

Penalty Points: 3

Ocon has gotten three F1 penalty points in the last 12 months.

• 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)

#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 Qatar GP (expires on December 2, 2025)
• Two points: Causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the Chinese GP (expires on April 21, 2025)

#2. Fernando Alonso

Penalty Points: 8

Alonso has collected eight F1 penalty points, 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 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)

#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)