F1: PENALTIES DRIVERS CAN RECEIVE

Compiled by: Samalie K Shantal

F1 is a challenging style of motorsport, and occasionally technical penalties lead to viewer confusion. What justifies the imposition of a penalty? Why are there several kinds of punishments?

It happens frequently that drivers are subjected to extraordinarily severe fines that occasionally don't even make sense, such as the infamous 65-grid penalty Stoffel Vandoorne received at Spa in 2017.

HOW DO DRIVERS IN F1 GET SUSPENDED?

When a driver is fined, penalty points are added to their super license. To compete in Formula One, drivers must have this license. Points are acquired by competing in various series; the better the performance a driver produces, the more points they gain. Points were first introduced in the 1990s before being improved in recent years.

But, if they receive 12 penalty points in a calendar year, they will automatically lose one race and risk having their license suspended. This was developed by the FIA to stop reckless driving.

Below are some examples of F1 penalties, including the different punishments meted out to drivers, how teams may also be penalized, and how it may result in a race suspension.

WARNINGS

A driver can receive a warning in case he goes above the track restrictions during a race. After receiving several warnings, they are subject to a time penalty.

TIME RESTRICTIONS

When the crew cannot work on the car before the penalty expires and the driver’s pit, time penalties are applied. The penalty is added to their finish time if they don't pit again before the race is over. Several factors can result in such penalties for drivers.

In Bahrain for the 2023 season's opening race, Esteban Ocon was given three-time penalties in succession. He was given a five-second penalty for having his right front tire outside the starting box prior to the start of the race, a 10-second penalty for a mechanic starting to work on the car 4.6 seconds into the first penalty, and a further five-second penalty for going 0.1 km/h over the 80 kph pit lane speed limit.

DRIVING-THROUGH FINE

Occasionally, drivers are given a drive-through penalty, in which case they must drive through the pit lane and resume racing. Alternately, they may receive a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, in which case they must halt, wait 10 seconds, have no repairs made to the car, and then re-join the race.

PENALTY GRIDS

Grid penalties are typically applied when drivers replace their engines more frequently than permitted. In the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was given a 10-grid penalty for having his control electronics replaced twice already when only two are allowed for the entire season. He had to drop further 10 positions after qualifying in second place in order to start the race in 12th.

DISQUALIFICATION

Disqualification is a more severe punishment that drivers receive for significant offenses. Sebastian Vettel, for instance, was disqualified from the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix despite finishing in second position because Aston Martin failed to provide the requisite fuel sample after the race, making it impossible for the FIA to determine whether his car was using legal gasoline.

SUSPENSION

The worst punishment a driver can receive, which only occurs in exceptional cases, is suspension from several races. After being involved in several collisions that season, their climax occurring at Spa when the Frenchman pressed up against Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race, missed a braking point, and killed several drivers, he received a race suspension for the 2012 Italian GP.

TEAM PUNISHMENTS

Drivers are more likely to be fined, but the entire squad might also be punished. A team will undoubtedly get a significant fine and other penalties if it is shown to have engaged in any form of "cheating."

For instance, Red Bull was forbidden from utilizing the wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing prior to the 2023 season after it was discovered that it had violated the cost cap in 2021.

Another well-known incident was Crashgate in 2008, when Renault was found to have ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately collide with a wall at Turn 17 in Singapore so that Fernando Alonso could win after pitting. After a challenging year, the Spaniard was performing better, but a fuel issue kept him out of Q2 that weekend, preventing him from challenging for pole. After being kept under wraps for a while, Piquet was fired from Renault and appeared before the FIA to testify that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds had asked him to crash, activate the safety car, and hand the victory to Alonso. Briatore received a lifetime ban from F1, Symonds a five-year ban, while Renault suffered financial losses as a result of ING's withdrawal as a sponsor. The team was also given a suspended two-year disqualification period.

Compiled by: Samalie K Shantal