Guide

How F1 penalty points work

F1 drivers carry penalty points on their FIA super licence. Twelve in twelve months means a race ban. Here is how points are given, how they expire and what happens at twelve.

What penalty points are

Every F1 driver races on an FIA super licence. Since 2014 the stewards have been able to add penalty points to that licence on top of any time penalty, grid drop or fine. The points work like points on a road driving licence: they build up a record of a driver's behaviour, so repeated offences add up to something bigger than any single penalty.

The 12-point rule

If a driver reaches 12 penalty points within any 12-month period, they are banned from the next event. Once the ban has been served, those 12 points are removed from the licence.

Only one driver has been banned under the system so far. Kevin Magnussen reached 12 points at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix and sat out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that followed, with Oliver Bearman taking his Haas seat for the weekend.

How long points last

Each point expires on the 12-month anniversary of the day it was imposed. Points do not reset at the end of a season, and they do not all expire together. A driver with points from three different races will see them drop off on three different dates.

This is why the tracker shows a "next drop" date for each driver, and why you can pick a future date to see how a licence will look after older points fall away.

How many points an offence gets

The stewards decide the number case by case, guided by the FIA's driving standards guidelines. Minor or technical offences usually get one or two points. More serious incidents, such as causing a collision or ignoring yellow flags, typically get two or three. Collisions with apparent deliberate or reckless intent can get four.

Points can be given in any session, not just the race. Practice and qualifying offences count the same way. In 2026, Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson each received a point for contact during practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Why the totals were lower in 2026

The FIA updated its driving standards guidelines for 2026. They now suggest points are reserved for dangerous, reckless or apparently deliberate actions, and for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The first point of the 2026 season was not handed out until the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, and most drivers carried very few points into the end of the year. Read more in why F1 penalty points almost disappeared in 2026.

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