F1 penalty points: Verstappen and Alonso closest to ban tally at start of 2025

Henry Valantine 18 Mar 2025 1:30 PM

F1 drivers cannot reach the fateful 12-point threshold, otherwise it will result in a race ban.

The use of penalty points in F1 became increasingly liberal in 2024 and that is playing out with more drivers getting closer to the race ban threshold.

Kevin Magnussen became the first driver to become banned for a race by reaching the fateful 12-point mark last September, but others are not far behind that as the season gets going again in 2025.

What are penalty points used for in Formula 1?

Formula 1’s penalty points system is in place to keep driver behaviour under control in the same way as regular road users, with 12 points on their FIA Super Licence over a 12-month period resulting in a one-race ban.

Penalty points are issued for driver transgressions, with the amount varying depending on the severity of the incident.

Once a year has passed since each particular offence, the points connected to that specific incident get wiped, meaning they have to be careful to avoid crossing that fateful 12-point threshold.

Currently closest to 12 points are Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who sit on eight points.

Verstappen will be the more worried of the two, however, with the reigning World Champion not seeing any of his points wiped from his licence until the end of June 2025 – meaning he will have to navigate much of the first half of the season carefully if he is to avoid a ban.

All drivers managed to navigate the Australian Grand Prix without adding to their licences, and with no points falling away, the situation remains the same as it was after the end of the F1 2024 campaign.

F1 penalty points: Each driver’s current total

Eight penalty points

Fernando Alonso

Three points: Expire 24th March 2025. These were awarded for ‘potentially dangerous driving’ against George Russell during the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
Three points: Expire 20th April 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz during the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint.
Two points: Expire 30th June 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Zhou Guanyu during the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen

Two points: Expire 30th June 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Lando Norris at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 27th October 2025. These were awarded for forcing Lando Norris off track during the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix.
One point: Expires 1st November 2025. This point was awarded for being under the minimum VSC delta time during the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint.
One point: Expires 1st December 2025. This point was awarded for driving unnecessarily slowly on a cooldown lap during qualifying for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 8th December 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Oscar Piastri during the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Four penalty points

Nico Hulkenberg

Two penalty points: Expire 30th June 2025. These were issued for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso in the Sprint at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
Two penalty points: Expire 1st September 2025. These were issued for causing a collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

Lance Stroll

Two points: Expire 21st April 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 1st December 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Alex Albon during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

Three penalty points

Esteban Ocon

One point: Expires 4th May 2025. This was issued for an unsafe release during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix Sprint.
Two points: Expire 26th May 2025. These were issued for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly during the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.

Lando Norris

Three points: Expire 1st December 2025. These were awarded for failing to slow for double yellow flags during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

Two penalty points

Oliver Bearman

Two points: Expire 2nd November 2025. These were issued for colliding with Franco Colapinto during the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri

Two points: Expire 2nd November 2025. These were issued for colliding with Liam Lawson during the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 8th December 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Franco Colapinto during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Alex Albon

Two points: Expire 1st December 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson

Two points: Expire 1st December 2025. These were awarded for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

One penalty point

Carlos Sainz

One point: Expires 5th May 2025. This was issued for causing a collision with Oscar Piastri during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

George Russell

One point: Expires 1st December 2025. This point was awarded for failing to maintain a 10 car-length distance behind the Safety Car during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

Zero penalty points

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Gabriel Bortoleto

Jack Doohan

Pierre Gasly

Isack Hadjar

Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc

Yuki Tsunoda

Inactive F1 drivers with unexpired penalty points

Franco Colapinto

Two points: Expire 27th October 2025. These were issued for causing a collision with Liam Lawson at the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas

Three points: Expire 8th December 2025: These were awarded for causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Two points: Expire 8th December 2025: These were awarded for causing a collision with Sergio Perez during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo

Two points: Expire 21st April 2025. These were awarded for overtaking Nico Hulkenberg under Safety Car conditions at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
One point: Expire 1st September 2025. This was awarded for forcing Nico Hulkenberg off track at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.