F1 penalty points before the Brazilian GP: 5 biggest delinquents

The F1 Penalty points system was introduced in 2014 to keep the driving standards of the sport above a certain threshold. There were a few drivers in the early 2010s who were pushing the standards too far down for the liking of many.

Drivers like Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado were repeat offenders, and the French driver was even banned from a race for a collision he caused in the Belgian GP in 2012.

Since the inception of this system, only one driver has undergone a ban for accruing too many penalty points. Kevin Magnussen served a ban at the race in Baku early in the year. As we head to Canada after a fun race in Mexico, who are the top 5 delinquents in terms of F1 penalty points? Let's take a look.

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F1 Penalty Points: Who is close to a ban?

#5 Sergio Perez

Penalty Points: 3

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

• Two points: Causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (expire November 26, 2024)
• One point: Unsafe release in pit lane at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (expires March 9, 2025)

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#4 Nico Hulkenberg

Penalty Points: 4

Hulkenberg has four F1 penalty points so far.

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

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#3 Lance Stroll

Penalty Points: 5

Stroll has collected five penalty points over the past 12 months, including the two-point penalty incurred for causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo in China.

• Two points: Causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the Chinese GP (expire on April 21, 2025)
• Three points: Overtaking under yellow flag conditions at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expire on November 17, 2024)

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#2 Max Verstappen

Penalty Points: 6

Verstappen now has six penalty points, with the latest coming at the Mexican GP due to his incident with Lando Norris.

• Two points: Forcing Lando Norris off track during the 2024 F1 Mexican GP (expire on October 28, 2025)
• Two points: Causing a collision with Norris at the 2024 F1 Austrian GP (expire on June 30, 2025)
• Two points: Forcing Charles Leclerc off track during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (expire on November 19, 2024)

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#1 Fernando Alonso

Penalty Points: 8

Alonso has accumulated eight F1 penalty points. Along with a 10-second penalty, he was handed 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 (expire June 30, 2025)
• Three points: Pushing Carlos Sainz off the track at the F1 Chinese GP Sprint (expire April 20, 2025)
• Three points: Potentially dangerous driving against George Russell at the Australian GP (expire on March 24, 2025)