F1 penalty points before the Qatar GP: 5 biggest delinquents

The F1 Penalty points system has played a major role in keeping the driving standards under check. The system was first introduced in 2014 as a direct consequence of a dip in driving standards in the early 2010s.

With drivers like Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado getting into far too many collisions and not having a bigger penalty hanging over their heads was something that drove the need to have a system in place.

The points are given on the basis of the severity of the violations as a part of the system. If a driver reaches 12 points, he's getting banned from a race. Kevin Magnussen became the first-ever driver this season to get banned for reaching the 12-point threshold. As the circus now heads to Qatar, who are the top 5 delinquents of 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

Sergio Perez has three F1 penalty points.

• 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)

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#4 Esteban Ocon

Penalty Points: 3

Esteban Ocon got two F1 penalty points for his collision with his teammate Pierre Gasly.

• 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)

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#3 Nico Hulkenberg

Penalty Points: 4

Nico Hulkenberg has four F1 penalty points currently.

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

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#2 Max Verstappen

Penalty Points: 5

Max Verstappen now has five penalty points, with the latest addition coming at the 2024 Brazilian GP due to his incident with Lando Norris.

• One point: VSC infringement in the 2024 F1 Brazilian GP Sprint (expires on November 2, 2025)
• Two points: Forcing Lando Norris off the 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)

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#1 Fernando Alonso

Penalty Points: 8

Fernando Alonso has accumulated eight F1 penalty points. The Spaniard was handed two penalty points and a 10-second penalty 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 (expire on March 24, 2025)