Kevin Magnussen became the first driver to receive an automatic race ban for reaching 12 penalty points on his licence earlier this year.
But one of his Formula 1 rivals has collected even more more penalty points than he has since the FIA introduced them. Penalty points were first issued to drivers in 2014, but a driver who wasn’t even on the grid that year has earned the most since then: Max Verstappen.So far the three-times world champion has managed to avoid the same fate as Magnussen. Although he picked up more penalty points in the last two race weekends, today he has moved further away from the risk of a ban. The two points he picked up at the Las Vegas Grand Prix 12 months ago today have expired, meaning he is now on five points.
Of course having the most penalty points doesn’t necessarily make him ‘baddest boy’ on the grid. As Masgnussen’s fate shows, drivers who pick up points at too high a rate risk getting into trouble. Magnussen has collected penalty points at an average of 0.2 per grand prix weekend compared to Verstappen’s 0.18. Some past drivers had even higher averages, notably Daniil Kvyat (see below).
The following year, when he was promoted to Red Bull at the fifth round, Verstappen largely stayed out of trouble. By the time he began his first full season as a Red Bull driver he only had one point on his licence. Although he got more than halfway towards a ban in 2018, through 2020 he managed to keep a clean sheet.
However during his intense battle with Lewis Hamilton, both drivers collected penalties. Out of the four occasions Verstappen picked up points that year, three were for incidents involving his championship rival. But Verstappen repeated his title wins in the next two seasons with only a single incident deemed worthy of penalty points each year: One for another clash with Hamilton at Interlagos in 2022, and then his incident at Las Vegas a year ago today, when the stewards found he forced Charles Leclerc off the track at the start of the race.
This year, Verstappen again kept a clean sheet except during crucial moments in his championship fight with Lando Norris. The Red Bull driver was deemed responsible for their collision in Austria, picked up more penalty points for forcing Norris off the track at turn four in Mexico (though, unfathomably, not for doing the same again three corners later at higher speed) and another point for a Virtual Safety Car infringement while trying to attack the McLaren pair ahead of him in the sprint race in Brazil.
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On his way to what looks like an increasingly inevitable fourth world championship, Verstappen has shown a precise understanding not only of how to follow the rules, but when to risk pushing them a little further. And as the top 10 table below shows, other multiple champions have arguably taken a similar approach.
Verstappen’s record 39 penalty points
| Round | Session | Infringement | Penalty points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Monaco Grand Prix | Race | Caused an incident with Romain Grosjean | 2 |
| 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix | Race | Safety Car speeding | 3 |
| 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Race | Left the track and gained an advantage | 1 |
| 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Race | Ignored blue flags | 2 |
| 2016 Mexican Grand Prix | Race | Left the track | 1 |
| 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix | Race | Caused a collision with Daniel Ricciardo | 2 |
| 2017 United States Grand Prix | Race | Left the track and gained an advantage | 1 |
| 2018 Chinese Grand Prix | Race | Caused a collision with Sebastian Vettel | 2 |
| 2018 Italian Grand Prix | Race | Involved in an incident with Valtteri Bottas | 2 |
| 2018 Russian Grand Prix | Qualifying | Yellow flag speeding | 2 |
| 2018 Japanese Grand Prix | Race | Rejoined the track when it was not safe to do so | 1 |
| 2019 Monaco Grand Prix | Race | Unsafe release in front of Valtteri Bottas | 2 |
| 2019 Mexican Grand Prix | Qualifying | Yellow flag speeding | 2 |
| 2021 Italian Grand Prix | Race | Caused a collision with Lewis Hamilton | 2 |
| 2021 Qatar Grand Prix | Qualifying | Failure to respect double yellow flags | 2 |
| 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Race | Leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage | 1 |
| 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Race | Braked in a manner which caused a collision with Lewis Hamilton | 2 |
| 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix | Race | Caused a collision with Lewis Hamilton | 2 |
| 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix | Race | Forced Charles Leclerc off the track | 2 |
| 2024 Austrian Grand Prix | Race | Caused a collision with Lando Norris | 2 |
| 2024 Mexican Grand Prix | Race | Forced Lando Norris off the track | 2 |
| 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix | Sprint race | Above the minimum time at end of Virtual Safety Car period | 1 |
Top 10 drivers with the most penalty points
| Rank | Driver | Penalty points | Starts* | Points/start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 39 | 206 | 0.19 |
| 2 | Kevin Magnussen | 37 | 182 | 0.20 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | 34 | 222 | 0.15 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | 32 | 179 | 0.18 |
| 5 | Lance Stroll | 29 | 163 | 0.18 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat | 27 | 110 | 0.25 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | 26 | 184 | 0.14 |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | 23 | 134 | 0.17 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | 22 | 167 | 0.13 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | 21 | 207 | 0.10 |
*In grand prix weekends after penalty points were introduced
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Ideals (@ideals)
18th November 2024, 12:09
If penalty points were handed out for dangerous or reckless driving alone, then yes, this might mean something.
But they mostly give penalty points for a whole range of inconsequential things, like breaching track limits or breaching the VSC delta time by 0.63 seconds. So ultimately, there’s not really much of a point reading anything into it.
Craig
18th November 2024, 12:31
So you think drivers should just willy-nilly cut corners and speed by within inches of on-track marshals? “inconsequential things” are punished to dissuade drivers doing unnecessarily dangerous things that could endanger them, marshals, pit crews or even spectators. Verstappen’s becoming more and more an example of what drivers do when they’re not punished for so called “inconsequential things”.
Ideals (@ideals)
18th November 2024, 14:52
I never said they should cut corners. I’m fine with the existing penalties. I don’t see why it would qualify for penalty points. Or why going over a white line by a couple of centimeters qualifies for anything you said.
Henri
18th November 2024, 16:58
How come they only gave Norris a £5000 fine for driving on a closed track!!! with marshalls a racing driver and a stranded car plus recovery vehicles on the track.
Lando should have had a major punishment and a couple of penalty points for that, or he should have been disqualified for that because that was absurdly dangerous.
Johns
18th November 2024, 12:32
The most successful driver is usually attracts the most scrutiny.
If hamilton didnt get any points for punting VER off at Silverston at 160 mph and nearly killing him, then the whole thing is a joke anyway.
matt90
18th November 2024, 17:33
But Hamilton did get penalty points for Silverstone ’21.
Doh
18th November 2024, 18:19
I’m surprised Lewis isn’t even in the top 10 considering the 6 titles he’s won in that time ;)
SteveP
18th November 2024, 19:19
Everyone has to do it their own way. Lewis seem to take the cleaner route (lights touchpaper)
sam
18th November 2024, 18:04
Max is the dirtiest driver of this generation. It makes sense that he has the most points.
SteveP
18th November 2024, 18:30
Well, I suppose the logical outcome of that statement is that the whole thing is not a joke
Not withstanding the detail that if Max hadn’t cut right at the point he did there would have been no contact at all, and…
… he spent a quiet afternoon having a scan or two and relaxing. Hardly at death’s door.
Josef Harimasi
18th November 2024, 20:11
Sick.
SteveP
18th November 2024, 20:17
No, just a statement about the quiet nature of the UHCW imaging dept. on a Sunday afternoon.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
19th November 2024, 23:38
Pretty sure Max going in to the barrier at Silverstone was his own doing. One of the best wins of Hamilton’s career IMO.
SPArtacus
18th November 2024, 12:28
This doesn’t seem contrived to provoke arguments at all.
Craig
18th November 2024, 12:34
I think Verstappen was the first to come within range of a race ban but the officials were really reluctant to go through with it (for better or worse, there’s definitely an argument that ‘the final straw’ should be something suitably significant rather then accidently sliding wide a couple times), same with those who came close to a race ban after until Magnussen went so far they couldn’t make up any excuses.
SteveP
18th November 2024, 19:16
Indeed so. Where are the figures for other drivers running down to zero penalty points?
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
18th November 2024, 13:30
I like that he got a penalty point when he “left the track” in Mexico 2016 ;)
He and every other driver have done this at every single track and race they have ever been to!
Alan Dove
18th November 2024, 15:56
Use em or lose em
The Dolphins
18th November 2024, 16:41
Exactly. This is another example where Max seemingly understand the limit and pushes to it. Would I argue each driver should do the same? Absolutely not, not for the safety of the sport.
Robert (@lekkerbek)
18th November 2024, 17:39
Mexico 2016: Left the track 1 penalty point
When Hamilton did that in the opening lap, he got nothing.
Monaco 2019: Unsafe release in front of Valtteri Bottas 2 penalty points.
When Leclerc did that in Germany in the same year, he got nothing. Instead the team got a fine.
This means nothing.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
18th November 2024, 19:38
Well, Verstappen being let out his pit box caused Bottas to get a puncture and they drove almost side by side. I would say that this situation was far worse than Leclerc in Germany.
MacLeod (@macleod)
19th November 2024, 8:58
Still not Max fault but the team… There are situations were I think penaulty points why and other situations where I think why no penaulty points….
ludewig
18th November 2024, 18:28
Penalty points are a joke. Between the inconsistent stewarding, giving penalty points for things that not all that unsafe or egregious, while not giving points for much more dangerous behavior, and them not giving penalty points as readily to drivers near a ban, what is even the point of the system?
MichaelN
18th November 2024, 18:55
The system is good, the application is not. That’s a stewards-problem not a penalty-point-problem.
As has been mentioned, the points aren’t given consistently which makes it seem like it’s not really something the FIA takes seriously, and is more of a reflection of the mood the stewards are in that day. This is obviously not ideal. That they’ve previously stopped giving points to avoid ending up with a banned driver, and only went that far with a driver who was already on his way out of the sport, is another indication of this problem.
But having some way to keep track of drivers who have long-term issues with the rules is a good thing. It’s not necessary, as the stewards are perfectly entitled to take a driver’s priors into account when giving penalties. But the penalty points are a nice tool to have because F1 is so full of people who, for cultural reasons they themselves seem oblivious to, shout “yeah but precedence!” when that has absolutely nothing to do with how the F1 rules are. Again; the Sporting Regulations are very clear on what the stewards can do.
ludewig
18th November 2024, 20:41
The system is not good if it apparently cannot be applied correctly.
So what? They just let them off the hook anyway, as long as there are financial interests in not banning them.
MichaelN
19th November 2024, 9:48
That it hasn’t been doesn’t mean it can’t. It’s not a super complex system, and not unlike similar systems in other sports.
But as you note, the will has to be there to actually do something with it. As so often, the FIA is far too deferential to the teams.
BMW P85 V10
18th November 2024, 19:21
Britisch Bias or not, it must be said that there are no British drivers in the top 10 of drivers with penalty points, although the biggest percentage of drivers with the same nationality are the British drivers. That’s against all odds.
SteveP
18th November 2024, 21:04
An unweighted probability would require that all drivers in the overall list were of equal talent and of equal emotional balance.
They aren’t, so the probability of a British driver featuring in the top 10 isn’t going to be in direct proportion to the number of drivers. Like, well, I was going to point out that there were three French drivers during the 2015-current period, and then I noted the famous Mr. Mobile Incident (Grosjean) in the top-10 list – but please note neither Ocon nor Gasly feature in the top 10. Plus, in points per start terms, Kvyat is number 1.
Norris and Russell are relative noobs (2019), so their total should be expected to be lower.
Maybe the list needs resorting? That would place Max as third.
Mayrton
19th November 2024, 9:48
If anything this again confirms the bias. It is actually a clear prove of it.
SteveP
19th November 2024, 18:10
No, it proves that statistics are a tool that can often be slanted to be “proof” of whatever you want.
As I said “Plus, in points per start terms, Kvyat is number 1.” and “Maybe the list needs resorting? That would place Max as third.”
The other pertinent item is that it places Max third behind only Kvyat (often regarded as a guided missile) and Magnussen who did get a penalty by driving, this year, in a fashion that caused major outrage.
Whether penalty points should be handed out for some of the infractions is a different argument, but everyone is driving with the same rules applied.
(Or, as some have pointed out about Max – not being applied, but that would have to go down as anti-British bias when you consider who lost out)
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
18th November 2024, 20:23
Well colour me surprised the king of we crash or my corner has the most…
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
20th November 2024, 8:29
The penalty points just confirm what my own eyes have seen. There’s no bias, Max is a dirty driver.