If a driver accumulates twelve penalty points, they will be banned from racing for one Grand Prix, forcing them to watch from the stands as they serve their punishment.
Follow Us
In Formula One, penalty points can be accumulated in a variety of ways, most of which are related to causing an accident on the track or breaking some sort of rule, such as ignoring yellow flags. If a driver accumulates twelve penalty points, they will be banned from racing for one Grand Prix, forcing them to watch from the stands as they serve their punishment. Following an incident at the Mexican Grand Prix in which he locked up while attempting an overtake and forced Lance Stroll off the track, Pierre Gasly has increased his point total to ten. As previously stated, if Gasly picks up two more points, he will miss a race, which has irritated his new employers Alpine.
The French team went all out and negotiated hard with the Red Bull group to sign Gasly for 2023, so the last thing they want is for their new star signing to be suspended because of things he did while racing for another team. Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has commented on Gasly’s driving, claiming it is a combination of bad luck and careless driving.
“We just have to be a little bit more careful,” he said when asked about a potential race ban for the Frenchman. “I saw what happened [in Mexico] and at this point, I’m not biased, it looked 50-50 to me but away. Just have to be more careful.”
Gasly has asked to speak with the FIA about his points total, believing that he has been treated unfairly by some of the decisions made against him. He received points for dropping more than ten car lengths behind the car ahead during a safety car, but it appears clear from the footage that many other drivers did the same thing without being penalised, much to Gasly’s chagrin. Szafnauer joked about Gasly ‘taking one for the team’ and picking up two penalty points in Brazil to ensure he is suspended for AlphaTauri in Abu Dhabi, allowing him to start fresh at Alpine.
Gasly is clearly one of the most talented drivers on the grid on any given day; all he needs to do now is iron out the rough spots in his driving that lead to these penalty points, and Alpine will have a potential regular podium scorer on their hands.
