F1 News
Gasly looks to avoid race ban, two penalty points dropped
- Toby McLuskie
Pierre Gasly had to be extra careful in Formula 1 since the end of 2022. The Frenchman was on 10 penalty points and thus close to a race ban, which applies at 12 penalty points. This coming weekend, Gasly's first two penalty points will expire.
Formula 1 uses a system of penalty points. If a driver makes a mistake, this can be penalised with penalty points on a driver's super licence. These points expire after 12 months. If a driver lands on 12 penalty points, it means a race ban.
Gasly breathes a sigh of relief
Gasly was on ten penalty points for a long time, making a race ban very close. Often, for a collision with another driver, a penalty of two such points is already handed out. Carlos Sainz, for example, got two penalty points for tapping Fernando Alonso around in Australia. So Gasly absolutely could not afford such an incident.
Meanwhile, Gasly's first penalty points have expired, leaving the Alpine driver on eight points. These are the points Gasly received at last year's Spanish Grand Prix for a collision with Lance Stroll. The Frenchman still has the most penalty points of any driver and the next points do not expire until 10 July.