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Formula 3

Alpine F1 junior banned after 18 penalty points in one week

A dramatic week for this Alpine F1 junior driver who will be forced to sit out the next round of the Formula 3 season.

Nicola Lacorte
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Alpine F1 junior driver Nicola Lacorte is set to carry out an event ban at the Formula 3 round from the Red Bull Ring later this month.

Lacorte, who races for DAMS in the F3 feeder series, endured a nightmare week covering two F3 rounds from Monaco and Spain.

Any driver that accumulates 12 penalty points in 12 months is handed an automatic ban for the next applicable round.

Kevin Magnussen became the first F1 driver to breach the limit last season, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen is currently one point away from being issued a ban.

While the points are normally built up over a period of time, Lacorte was sensationally handed 18 penalty points across the rounds in Monaco and Spain.

Heading into the feature race in Spain, the Italian was just one point away from being hit with a ban.

A disastrous race saw the 18-year-old pick up multiple infringements, meaning DAMS must now look for a new driver for the Austria round at the end of June.

Nicola Lacorte penalty point summary

Event Violation Penalty points
Monaco Ignoring black flag 5
Monaco Causing a collision 2
Spain Causing a collision 4
Spain Speeding during safety car 3
Spain Speeding during safety car 3
Spain Causing a collision 1

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