– Usually during the summer break, we always look at the current status of penalty points and see which driver has particularly stood out negatively in this regard and needs to be careful because otherwise they are threatened with a race ban. But this year we can basically skip that, as a completely new approach has made the penalty points almost obsolete.
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Only a single penalty point was awarded in the first half of the season: for Franco Colapinto in Barcelona. By comparison: last year the number of penalty points at the end of the season was 62.
What seems particularly curious in this context is the reason for the only point this season. While all collisions, forcing off maneuvers, or dangerous driving styles have so far not been penalized with points, it was precisely a yellow flag violation that brought the point.
Yellow flag violation causes the only point
According to the stewards, Colapinto did not slow down sufficiently enough at the Formula 1 race in Barcelona, even though the yellow flag was shown due to Fernando Alonso’s stranded Aston Martin. Although he reacted to the flag before entering the yellow zone, his speed in the relevant zone was not visibly reduced.
The Alpine driver was then given a ten-second time penalty – and one penalty point.
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Delaying under yellow has already been a central topic this season – especially in qualifying. George Russell set the best time in Spielberg despite a yellow flag due to Max Verstappen’s accident and was allowed to keep the pole because he lifted slightly – his teammate Kimi Antonelli received a grid penalty in Budapest for a similar incident.
Currently, Oliver Bearman (Haas) still leads the penalty list with four points from last year. Nevertheless, the Brit is far from the twelve points that would earn him a race ban for one Grand Prix, as his predecessor Kevin Magnussen (so far the only driver) managed.
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New guideline provides more freedom
The fact that only one penalty point was awarded in 2026 is related to the new guidelines. This year, the FIA gives the race stewards significantly more leeway in awarding possible points, whereas previously a fixed point value was usually provided for an offense.
The drivers view this step positively, as last year they felt that penalty points were awarded too often for normal racing situations. “Penalty points were awarded very generously in recent years,” Bearman said a few weeks ago. “That didn’t really encourage us to attack or try overtaking maneuvers.”
“If you make a mistake, you lose time in the race anyway, but an additional long-term penalty is very harsh. But for really dangerous mistakes, the system is correct.”
If drivers display a driving style that is potentially dangerous for others, penalty points should still be issued, according to the consensus in the field. Only: so far this year, dangerous driving styles have been sanctioned at most with a warning.
Maybe the stewards have gone a bit too far in the other direction …
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