Penalty points and race bans

Penalty points work a lot like points on a road driving licence. When a driver is penalised for an offence, the stewards can also add points to their super licence. If a driver reaches 12 points within any 12-month period, they're suspended from the next race weekend.

The idea is to catch repeat offenders. A single 5-second penalty doesn't change much on its own, but a driver who keeps causing collisions or ignoring flags will eventually miss a race.

#How points are given

Points come alongside a penalty, not instead of one. The FIA's penalty guidelines suggest a number for each offence, usually between 1 and 3, with up to 4 or 5 for the most serious. For example:

The stewards can give fewer points than the guideline, and they're meant to give more only in exceptional cases. Under the 2026 guidelines, penalty points are kept for driving that is dangerous, reckless or apparently deliberate, or for other clearly unacceptable behaviour. A clumsy but honest mistake might get a time penalty and no points at all.

Points are never added for a reprimand or a fine on its own.

#When points expire

Each set of points stays on the licence for exactly 12 months from the day it was given, then drops off. It's a rolling total, not a seasonal one, so points picked up at the last race of one year still count for most of the next.

That's why you'll hear commentators say a driver is "on 10 points, two of which come off after next weekend". Teams keep a close eye on the dates.

#What happens at 12 points

A driver who reaches 12 points is suspended for the next event. After serving the ban, 12 points are taken off their licence, so they come back with a clean slate (or with whatever was left over above 12).

The team can bring in a replacement driver for that weekend, usually their reserve driver. See rookies and reserve drivers.

#Has anyone actually been banned?

Penalty points were introduced in 2014. For ten years nobody reached 12, although several drivers came close.

Kevin Magnussen became the first in 2024. He reached 12 points at the Italian Grand Prix and missed the next race in Azerbaijan, where Haas reserve driver Oliver Bearman took his seat. Magnussen's points had mostly come from small, frequent penalties for things like leaving the track and gaining an advantage rather than one big incident, which led to a debate about whether the system was working as intended. It's part of why the newer guidelines are stricter about saving points for dangerous driving.

#Bans outside the points system

The stewards can still suspend a driver directly for an extremely serious offence, without waiting for points to add up. Romain Grosjean was given a one-race ban for causing a multi-car crash at the start of the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, two years before the points system existed. Michael Schumacher was given a two-race ban in 1994 after ignoring a black flag at the British Grand Prix.