F1 driver’s penalty points approach revised by FIA for 2023 season

The FIA have tweaked their penalty points system to ensure no F1 driver misses out on races for minor offenses, according to widespread reports.

According to F1's sporting regulations, a driver who picks up 12 points over a 12-month period will see his or her license suspended for the following race. Once the suspension is served, the slate is wiped clean and the driver can return to the grid.

This rule came into the spotlight last year when Pierre Gasly picked up 10 points very quickly, sometimes for offenses as small as exceeding track limits. The Frenchman, however, was confident that he was not a bad driver and vowed to speak with the FIA to urge them to rethink the system. He said at the time (via Motorsport.com):

“I'm not going to lie. It's a very unpleasant situation and quite delicate. In some ways, also a bit embarrassing to be standing in a position where I could be banned. After the season that I've done, I don't really feel like I've been particularly dangerous over these last 12 months, and that will be definitely a harsh penalty.”

Director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association George Russell backed Gasly and had even called for talks between the drivers and the FIA. He said:

“I don’t think it can be in the interest of the sport that we suddenly have five banned drivers or, in the worst case, a World Championship without one of the main drivers being able to compete at all. But if we continue with the current system, then sooner or later we will get into trouble.”

Those talks seem to have borne fruit as Motorsport.com reports that penalty points will now be awarded to drivers only if they do something that is deemed unsafe. Sporting-related events will now be met with in-race penalties.

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FIA make DRS changes in Jeddah ahead of 2023 Saudi Arabian F1 GP

Besides making changes to the sporting rules, the FIA have also been busy tweaking tracks on the F1 race calendar. The latest change comes ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with F1's governing body moving the third DRS detection point at the Jeddah Corniche street circuit until after the final corner.

The final DRS activation zone was previously located in the braking zone before the last hairpin between the two long straights. It has now been pushed from the Turn 27 braking zone to the main straight - 170m past the hairpin.

The Saudi GP is not the first race to have its DRS zones tweaked this season. The FIA shortened the first DRS zone in Bahrain, with further changes expected to come in Melbourne, Baku, and Miami.