F1 penalty points after the Azerbaijan GP: 5 biggest delinquents

Kevin Magnussen became the first scalp of the F1 Penalty Points system as the driver was banned from the race in Azerbaijan because he reached 12 points over a 12-month period. The essence behind introducing this system back in 2014 was to keep the driving standards above a certain threshold, and there was this suggestion that with Kevin, it was probably going the other way.

Magnussen missed the race weekend in Baku and was replaced by Ollie Bearman. These penalty points are given to drivers on the basis of the transgressions that they commit on track. These transgressions vary from dangerous driving, causing a collision, etc.

With that being said, as we move on from Singapore, who are the top 5 delinquents on the current grid? Let's take a look.

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F1 Penalty Points: Who is close to a ban?

#5 Max Verstappen

Penalty Points: 4

Verstappen has four penalty points, with the latest coming at the Austrian GP for his collision with Lando Norris.

• Two points: Causing a collision with Norris at the 2024 F1 Austrian GP (expires on June 30, 2025)
• Two points: Forcing Charles Leclerc off track during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expires on November 19, 2024)

#4 Nico Hulkenberg

Penalty Points: 4

Hulkenberg has 4 F1 penalty points.

• Two points: Causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix (expires on September 1, 2025)
• Two points: Pushing a driver off track (expires on June 29, 2025)

#3: Lance Stroll

Penalty Points: 5

Stroll has collected five F1 penalty points over the past 12 months, including two 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)
• Three points: Overtaking under yellow flag conditions at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expires on November 17, 2024)

#2 Fernando Alonso

Penalty Points: 8

Alonso has accumulated eight F1 penalty points. He received a 10-second penalty and two penalty points for a collision with Zhou Guanyu at the Austrian GP.

• Two points: Causing a collision with Zhou Guanyu at the F1 Austrian GP (expires June 30, 2025)
• Three points: Pushing Carlos Sainz off the track at the F1 Chinese GP Sprint (expires April 20, 2025)
• Three points: Potentially dangerous driving against George Russell at the Australian GP (expires on March 24, 2025)

#1 Sergio Perez

Penalty Points: 8

Perez has eight F1 penalty points, tied with Logan Sargeant and Alonso, for five different violations.

• Two points: Overtaking Fernando Alonso under safety car conditions (expires on September 24, 2024)
• Two points: Causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen (expires on September 24, 2024)
• One point: Causing a collision with Alex Albon at the 2023 F1 Singapore GP (expires on September 17, 2024)
• Two points: Causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (expires November 26, 2024)
• One point: Unsafe release in pit lane at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (expires March 9, 2025)