F1 penalty points: Which driver has the most? Who is closest to a race ban?

Penalty points mean F1 drivers are at risk of potentially being banned for a race.

Since 2014, F1 stewards award penalties alongside penalty points that accrue on a driver’s super licence.

Should a driver obtain 12 penalty points over a 12-month period then they will be handed a race ban.

The first driver to be banned for an F1 grand prix for hitting 12 penalty points was Kevin Magnussen in 2024.

F1 penalty points are used, similarly to road users, to keep behaviour in check.

Stewards apply penalty points to F1 drivers at their discretion, depending on the severity of the incident.

A year after a particular incident and a points punishment, the penalty points are wiped away.

This means an F1 driver can sit on the brink of a race ban if they edge close to the dreaded 12-point mark. They must stay on the right side of the regulations until some points are wiped off their record, a year after the punishment was dished out.

Max Verstappen had two points expire after the 2025 F1 Austrian Grand Prix, reducing his total to nine. It means the threat of a race ban is diminished.

Current F1 penalty points total for every F1 driver