Only five races into the season, two drivers in China have once again found themselves one step closer to a racing ban. Lance Stroll and Logan Sargeant are increasingly entering the danger zone.
Ten years ago, a penalty points system was introduced in Formula 1. In addition to a time penalty or other punishment, stewards can also award penalty points to drivers. If a driver accumulates twelve penalty points within a twelve-month period, a racing ban will follow.
It is remarkable that since the introduction of the penalty points system, no driver has received a racing ban for it. Race bans have been imposed in the past for other reasons. Pierre Gasly once came very close but narrowly escaped, strangely enough because the stewards suddenly gave him time penalties but, unlike other similar infringements, did not give them any penalty points.
An additional ‘problem’ is that the F1 calendar has expanded considerably since the introduction of the penalty points system. The bottom line is that there are many more opportunities to incur penalty points in a twelve-month period. In that sense, you can ask whether the number of penalty points after which a driver receives a racing ban should not be increased to, for example, fifteen penalty points.
In China, Logan Sargeant and Lance Stroll were already awarded penalty points, which put them both increasingly in the danger zone for a racing ban. Lance Stroll received two penalty points and a ten-second time penalty for his collision with Daniel Ricciardo. Stroll now has six penalty points to his name. The Canadian will lose two penalty points on July 9 from last year’s British GP.
Sargeant was given a ten-second time penalty and two penalty points because the stewards ruled that he had overtaken Nico Hulkenberg during the safety car phase as the German was coming out of the pit lane. Both crossed the safety car line and Sargeant did not give up position to Hulkenberg.
Logan Sargeant now has eight penalty points to his name and only on September 17 will he lose two penalty points from last year’s Italian GP. So we have to pay close attention to the American.