F1 Penalty Points 2026: The stars at most risk of a race ban heading into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The F1 2026 season sees entirely new chassis and power unit regulations as well as a change in approach to the FIA’s penalty points system.

Last season, a multitude of penalties were handed out to F1 stars for driving infringements, but for 2026 and beyond, the FIA have tightened the Driving Standards Guidelines.

This means drivers are now less likely to receive penalty points for infringements, with the stewards now set to only impose penalty points in incidents that are considered: "dangerous, reckless or apparently deliberate actions resulting in a collision or for other unacceptable or unsportsmanlike behaviour."

So, after the 14th round of the championship in Spain, are any F1 drivers at risk of a race ban from accumulating 12 points?

Here are the F1 driver penalty point standings heading into the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

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F1 driver penalty points before Azerbaijan GP

F1 driver penalty points and when they expire

McLaren

Lando Norris - Zero points

Oscar Piastri - Two points

Mercedes

George Russell - Zero points

Kimi Antonelli - One point

Red Bull

Max Verstappen - Zero points

Isack Hadjar - Zero points

Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton - One point

Charles Leclerc - Zero points

Williams

Carlos Sainz - Two points

Alex Albon - One point

Racing Bulls

Liam Lawson - Three points

Arvid Lindblad - Two points

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso - Zero points

Lance Stroll - Three points

Haas

Esteban Ocon - Zero points

Ollie Bearman - Two points

Audi

Nico Hulkenberg - Zero points

Gabriel Bortoleto - Two points

Alpine

Pierre Gasly - Zero points

Franco Colapinto - Four points

Cadillac

Valtteri Bottas - Zero points

Sergio Perez - Zero points

How do F1 penalty points work?

Drivers are allowed to a threshold of 12 penalty points and if they exceed that at any time, they are forced into a one-race ban for the next applicable race. All points picked remain active for one year before expiring.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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