F1 Penalty Points 2026: Franco Colapinto and rival driver most at risk of race ban

All the talk post-race (at least from Lando Norris) was that Franco Colapinto should be handed a race ban after causing a crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The world champion has since walked back on that but it wasn't Colapinto adding to his penalty points following Baku.

Colapinto's punishment was to pick up a five-place grid drop for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix (in Sepang of course).

Instead it was Carlos Sainz adding to his tally after failing to slow for yellow flags during qualifying on Friday.

That puts the Williams driver on a total of four points, along with Colapinto, making them the closest drivers to trigger the 12 point mark that would generate an automatic one-race ban.

Following Baku, and heading into this weekend's action at Sepang, here are the updated FIA penalty points.

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F1 driver penalty points after 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 - Four 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.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton calls for Ferrari investigation after Azerbaijan Grand Prix flop

READ MORE: Government minister fires Lando Norris dig after F1 controversy and call for race ban

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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