Max Verstappen took pole at the United States Grand Prix - Photo: Race Pictures

Mexican GP weekend poses final threat for Verstappen and Bearman

15:24, 23 Oct

Updated: 17:00, 23 Oct

byTobia Elia

Max Verstappen and Oliver Bearman still have one final hurdle to clear in Mexico before regaining points on their superlicence and avoiding the risk of a race ban.

F1 penalty points updated after the United States GP

Driver	Penalty Points
Ollie Bearman	10
Max Verstappen	9
Lance Stroll	7
Liam Lawson	6
Oscar Piastri	6
Yuki Tsunoda	5
Kimi Antonelli	5
Carlos Sainz	4
Alex Albon	4
Lando Norris	3
Franco Colapinto	3
Lewis Hamilton	2
Pierre Gasly	2
Charles Leclerc	1
George Russell	1
Esteban Ocon	1
Gabriel Bortoleto	0
Fernando Alonso	0
Isack Hadjar	0
Nico Hulkenberg	0

Max Verstappen post race at the United States Grand Prix. Photo: RacePictures

Verstappen and Bearman still on the brink of a race ban

As is well known, Formula 1’s penalty points system is designed to keep driver behaviour in check, with 12 points on an FIA Super Licence within a 12-month period resulting in a one-race ban.

In this particular ranking, the two drivers currently most at risk are Bearman and Verstappen, sitting on 10 and 9 points respectively. Both face the danger of a potential race ban should they commit any further offence worthy of penalty points on their Super Licence.

The Haas driver’s tally includes four points for a red flag infringement in the pitlane during the British GP, two points for a similar offence during FP2 in Monaco, two points for causing a collision with Colapinto at the 2024 Brazilian GP, and two more for a clash with Sainz at the 2025 Italian GP.

The Dutchman’s record currently shows three points for causing a collision with Russell at the 2025 Spanish GP, two points for a clash with Piastri at the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP, one point for driving unnecessarily slowly during qualifying in Qatar, one point for a Virtual Safety Car infringement in the Brazilian Sprint, and two points for forcing Norris off track during the 2024 Mexican GP.

Sainz gets two points back after right of review accepted

The Spanish driver had already collected two penalty points earlier this year following the Zandvoort incident with Liam Lawson, after the stewards deemed him responsible for causing the collision between the two at Turn 1.

However, after ''having found that the footage from the rear facing camera and the 360° camera on Car 30 satisfies all of the Review Criteria, the Stewards decided to re-examine the Decision.''

The Spaniard still had the ten-second penalty upheld, but at least had the two penalty points restored. As a result, the two points picked up in Austin take his total up to four penalty points — leaving only four drivers on the grid still sitting at zero.

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