Pierre Gasly Walks on a Tightrope As Mexican GP Pushes Driver Into Dangerous Territory

The Mexican GP was the 20th race of the season, and unlike 2021 this season was already decided. For most drivers the race was uneventful and inconsequential – the biggest and possibly the only beneficiary being Max Verstappen. But there was another driver for whom it could have big consequences – Pierre Gasly.

Max Verstappen had one of his easiest nights of 2022 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. He started the race in pole position, and ever since he got ahead at Turn 1, he never looked back. Verstappen finished the race a full 15 seconds (and change) ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

On the other end of the spectrum in terms of returns from the race was his peer, Pierre Gasly. Racing for Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri, Gasly finished outside of the points-paying positions in 11th position. But the biggest concern at the end of the night was another addition of penalty points to his name.

As the Frenchman attempted to move onto the inside line of Lance Stroll on Turn 4, his front left locked up. Consequently, he moved off-track limits and also forced Stroll off it. Noting the incident, Race Control launched an investigation; their decision was a 5-second penalty and one penalty point.

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Sunday night’s addition brings Gasly’s penalty points total to 10. Given that the accumulation of 12 points results in a race ban, Gasly would be walking on eggshells for the foreseeable future at least.

What is the penalty points system that has Pierre Gasly worried?

The penalty system, formally known as the Super Licence Penalty Points system, was introduced in 2014 by the FIA. Primarily, the system aims to disincentivize dangerous on-track behavior with similar systems followed in other sports too, like soccer.

Every driver can accumulate a maximum of 12 penalty points before action, i.e. a ban from one race can be taken. Points automatically expire at the end of 12 months from the date of the penalty.

Since its introduction, no driver has accumulated 12 points to warrant a race ban – Gasly is the closest. The penalty he incurred at the Spanish GP is due to expire on 22nd May 2023. This means that until May of 2023, he can only incur one more penalty.

Penalty at the Mexican GP comes at a bad streak of luck in that regard for the Frenchman – he has now incurred penalties in 3 consecutive races, starting with the Japanese GP when he (contentiously) was penalized for “speeding under Red Flag conditions.”

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Neither Alpine, his team for 2023, nor Gasly will be too happy with the circumstances for him. He will have to be very careful for the first 2 months of the 2023 season, or he could earn the ignominious record of being the first to be banned under these rules.