FIA penalty points: Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli update ahead of Azerbaijan Grand Prix

As the F1 world championship gets into the business end of the season, every little thing only magnifies in importance and that includes mistakes and mishaps.

That especially includes getting into trouble with the FIA stewards. Do that enough times by racking up 12 penalty points and a one-race ban is put in place - not ideal for drivers or teams in a championship battle or even otherwise.

The prospect of that happening this season had dimmed in recent weeks though, with a host of drivers having had penalty points expire following recent races.

They usually last a whole calendar year, and that has led to world championship leader Kimi Antonelli seeing three of his four penalty points expire in recent weeks.

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Penalty points expire for Hamilton and Antonelli

Causing a collision with Charles Leclerc at the Dutch Grand Prix last year (2) and driving erratically at Monza last year (1) has left the 20-year-old with just one point.

Likewise, his title rival Lewis Hamilton has also been left with just one penalty point with two being deducted having failed to slow under double yellow flags at last year's Dutch Grand Prix.

While this season the FIA have been far more lenient on dishing out points, three drivers were hit at the Dutch Grand Prix last month with Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad picking up points for yellow flag infringements.

As a result, Colapinto is now the driver with the most penalty points with four (all picked up this season), with Lawson and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll both on three.

Esteban Ocon had previously been top of the 'bad boys' with four points, but has had two points deducted following a collision with Carlos Sainz at last year's Italian Grand Prix.

Alex Albon for a similar incident with Ocon himself in Azerbaijan last year has also had two points taken off recently.

FIA F1 penalty points heading into Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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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