FIA superlicence penalty points: What are they and how many does each F1 driver have?

During a Formula 1 race, stewards can hand out all manner of punishments to drivers that breach the regulations. Time penalties, fines and reprimands are often dished out for incidents like causing a collision or speeding in the pitlane, but the stewards can also issue drivers with penalty points that accrue on their superlicence.

The penalty points system was brought in as a way of monitoring the behaviour of F1 drivers over the course of a season. When drivers are penalised with penalty points, they’re monitored through their superlicence and if a racer picks up 12 or more in the space of a 12-month period then they are handed a one-race ban.

Former Haas racer Kevin Magnussen was the last F1 driver to receive a race ban after he amassed 12 penalty points ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He subsequently sat out the race and was replaced by Oliver Bearman for the grand prix.

Are any other drivers on the current grid at risk of befalling a similar fate?

Red Bull ace Max Verstappen is leading for the number of penalty points right now, having picked up 11 since the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. He was subsequently handed further penalties at races in Mexico, Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, plus Spain in 2025.

Verstappen’s oldest points were handed out for causing a collision after the Red Bull driver crashed with the McLaren of Lando Norris in last year’s Austrian Grand Prix. He picked up a further two points four months later when F1 raced in Mexico. On that occasion, the Dutch racer was found to have forced Norris off track while the McLaren racer attempted an overtake around the outside of Turn 4.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

A week later, Verstappen was penalised for driving too quickly under virtual safety car conditions, which earned him his fifth point. The opposite issue befell Verstappen in Qatar, however, as he was handed a penalty point for driving unnecessarily slowly during his cooldown lap in qualifying for the grand prix.

Further points to land on Verstappen’s licence came in the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi. During the grand prix, the Red Bull driver collided with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri while attempting an audacious overtake down the inside of Turn 1. The two cars came together, and the stewards placed the blame on Verstappen as he “never got far enough alongside.”

Verstappen then picked up three more points for clashing with George Russell during the 2025 Spanish GP. The Red Bull driver was angry at being told to give the position up by his team to the Mercedes driver after their initial contact at Turn 1 after a safety car restart, and while appearing to let Russell by a few laps later at Turn 5 he then ran into him. Verstappen was also given a 10s penalty for the clash.

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson has the second highest tally of penalty points on the grid. The New Zealander picked up his first points at last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, before being handed a further three at the 2025 Bahrain Grand prix.

All six of Lawson’s penalty points were handed out for causing collisions with other drivers. The Kiwi’s first two points came when the stewards deemed him at fault for a crash with Valtteri Bottas on Turn 1 of the race in Qatar.

Then, when F1 raced in Bahrain earlier this season, Lawson picked up a further three points. One was handed out after the Racing Bulls driver crashed with the rear of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. Just 15 minutes later, Lawson attempted to dive down the inside of Turn 1 for a pass on Nico Hulkenberg but crashed with the Sauber driver in the process. Stewards looking into the crash put the blame squarely on Lawson.

Lawson picked up a further penalty point in the Miami GP for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso, putting him halfway towards a race ban.

The current Formula 1 championship leader, Oscar Piastri, has just four points on his licence, having picked up his first two during last year’s race in Brazil. The young Australian was handed a further two penalty points at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Piastri picked up two penalty points and a 10-second time penalty during the race in Brazil after attempting an inside pass on Liam Lawson that resulted in the Australian hitting the Kiwi at Turn 1, and stewards concluded that he was “wholly at fault for the collision.”

A month later, Piastri was once again in the stewards’ bad books after tangling with Williams driver Franco Colapinto. During the final race of the season, Piastri reportedly “misjudged the cars in front” and braked too late on the approach to Turn 6 at Yas Marina. As such, he ran into the back of Colapinto who, ultimately, retired from the race.

Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg also has four points on his superlicence, following breaches in Austria and Italy during the 2024 season.

The German’s first points were dished out in the sprint race after he was found to have forced Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso off track. The decision was reached after Hulkenberg attempted a pass on Alonso into Turn 3, but locked up and missed the apex of the corner. The then-Haas driver understeered and ran wide, which stopped Alonso from making the corner and forced him off the race track.

When Formula 1 returned to Monza a few months later, Hulkenberg earned another two points and a 10-second time penalty following a similar lock up. The German locked his wheels into Turn 1 at the Italian track and collided with Yuki Tsunoda, which ended the Japanese driver’s race.

Alpine rookie Jack Doohan has almost as many penalty points as he has race starts, currently sitting at four points over his six grand prix starts. Doohan’s four points were picked up during two incidents over this year’s Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

Doohan’s first points in F1 were handed out in the sprint race, where he was found to be at fault for a crash with Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto. The pair came together at Turn 14 when Doohan attempted an overtake but locked up and understeered into the Sauber, which earned him a 10-second penalty and the points on his licence.

The next day, Doohan was handed the same penalty after he was found to have lost control and locked up while attempting to pass Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar at Turn 14.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Erik Junius

After illness struck down Haas racer Kevin Magnussen, Oliver Bearman got another early outing for Haas last year, and duly picked up his first to superlicence penalty points in the process.

During the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, Bearman came together with Williams driver Franco Colapinto. The Haas driver hit the rear of Colapinto’s car and was found to be “wholly” at fault by the stewards. As such, he was issued two penalty points and a 10-second penalty in the race.

Bearman picked up another two points for overtaking under red flags during practice at the Monaco GP.

McLaren driver Lando Norris picked all three of his penalty points up during a single incident, making it the harshest penalty handed out to any driver on the current grid.

The points were issued to Norris at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix where he failed to slow down while double waved yellow flags were showing on track. Stewards reviewed marshalling system data, video, timing and telemetry to conclude that Norris hadn’t reduced his speed when the flags were brought out as a result of debris on track. As well as the three points, Norris was given a 10-second time penalty during the race.

Alonso’s team-mate at Aston Martin, Lance Stroll, also has two penalty points on his superlicence. The Canadian driver was handed the points during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, where he was found to be at fault for a crash involving Alex Albon. Stroll mounted the kerb at Turn 4, which unsettled his car and resulted in him hitting the side of Albon’s Williams.

Stroll picked up one further penalty point for clashing with Charles Leclerc during Monaco GP practice.

Alexander Albon – Two points

Williams racer Alex Albon earned his two penalty points during last year’s Qatar Grand Prix. The Thai driver was found by the stewards to have caused a collision with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. The Turn 1 crash occurred after Albon oversteered around the corner and attempted to correct his mistake. The fix didn’t stick, and Albon collided with Magnussen in an incident that he said was “my fault” following the grand prix.

Veteran racer Fernando Alonso has had a very quiet few months, amassing just two points during last year’s Austrian Grand prix and picking up no additional points in the ensuing 18 grands prix.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, speaks to the media

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Way back in June last year, Alonso was racing against Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu around the Red Bull Ring. The Spaniard attempted a “very late overtake” down the inside of Turn 3 and “never got in a position to have the right to the line,” stewards concluded.

The pair collided on the corner, and Alonso was found to be at fault for the incident, which earned him two penalty points and a 10-second time penalty.

Franco Colapinto – Two points

During his stint with Williams at the end of 2024, Franco Colapinto picked up two penalty points for a clash with Liam Lawson in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz has two points on his licence. Earlier this season, Sainz was in trouble with the stewards in Bahrain and was handed two points and a 10-second penalty for forcing Andrea Kimi Antonelli off the track. Stewards concluded that Sainz had locked up on the approach to Turn 10 in Bahrain, which resulted in him understeering “towards Car 12, missing the apex and forcing Car 12 off the track.”

Aside from the seven drivers who don’t have a penalty point just yet, Mercedes driver George Russell has the fewest points on his superlicence right now.

Russell was penalised in the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix for failing to maintain the correct distance behind the safety car. In the race, Russell fell more than 125 metres back from the safety car, which the stewards deemed was more than the 20-car-length minimum that racers should follow. As a result, he was given a five-second penalty and one point was added to his superlicence.

F1 driver penalty points