Russell one of two F1 drivers needing to be careful after Monaco Grand Prix

Review of Monaco Grand Prix qualifying

Mercedes’ George Russell and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly will have to be careful this season. Both drivers are running dangerously close to the 12-point penalty limit following the Monaco Grand Prix.

Russell was handed two penalty points by stewards in Monaco for colliding with Sergio Perez, bringing his total points tally up to six. The Brit looked to be on course for a podium finish but made an error of judgement at the Mirabeau corner. Shortly after returning to the track in fresh intermediate tyres, Russell clipped Perez resulting in a five-second penalty and went on to finish in P5.

Meanwhile, Gasly is riding the line even finer. The Frenchman has racked up eight points in the last 12 months; three at the Austrian GP and two in Japan, the United States and Mexico City.

Luckily for him, the three points he received in Austria for causing a collision and exceeding track limits are set to expire on July 10 as are two of Russell’s points picked up in the same race. 

F1 rules state that if a driver picks up 12 points over a 12-month period, then their race licence will be suspended for the following event, after which their points will be reset. Each point remains on a driver’s record for 12 months and will be removed on the anniversary of the offence.

Gasly had got himself up to 10 points until last week when he had two of them cleared from the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix. The 27-year-old believes many of his penalties are ‘soft’ and urged the FIA to review their regulations. 

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“I’m not going to lie. It’s a very unpleasant situation and quite delicate. In some ways, also a bit embarrassing to be standing in a position where I could be banned,” he said in March.

“After the season that I’ve done, I don’t really feel like I’ve been particularly dangerous over these last 12 months, and that will be definitely a harsh penalty.”

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