Otmar Szafnauer has called on Formula 1 bosses to make adjustments to the penalty points system as his new driver Pierre Gasly is threatened by a ban.
Gasly – who switches from AlphaTauri to Alpine for 2023 – racked up 10 penalty points on his superlicence in 2022, with 12 the threshold to trigger a one-race ban.
No driver has yet to reach 12 points, but Gasly's next set of points are due to be wiped on 22 May 2023 after the Spanish Grand Prix, in nine races' time.
Faced with the prospect of a ban, the Frenchman has called the situation "embarrassing", and his new team boss feels that a change is required on the account of more races being on the calendar.
Szafnauer calls for change
When the penalty points system was introduced in 2014, there were 19 races on the F1 calendar and no Sprint events.
In 2023, there are a planned 24 Grands Prix scheduled, with six Sprint races dotted throughout the season for a total of 30 events.
Taking this into account, Szafnauer feels a change is needed.
"We can maybe lobby the FIA to see if it can be changed," Szafnauer explained to media, including RacingNews365.com.
"I get the logic for wanting to change, as the 12 points was brought in when we had [fewer] races, including no Sprint races where you can get those type of points.
"If you take the 12 points and make it proportional to the amount of races we have now, 12 would probably go up to 14 or 15.
"It seems to me to be a logical thing to do.
"Yeah I've got 12 points but I got them over 22 races and three Sprint races – when the points were set we only had 18 or 20 races.
"There is a certain logic to say: 'We don't want you to lose your licence because you've accumulated these over a time period but in more races'.
"Otherwise, I think he'll have to drive a bit more cautiously for a while, and that's not great either."
What Pierre Gasly has penalty points for
| Race | Offence | Points | When they expire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Causing a collision – Lance Stroll | 2 | 22 May 2023 |
| Austria | Causing a collision – Sebastian Vettel | 2 | 10 July 2023 |
| Austria | Track limits | 1 | 10 July 2023 |
| Japan | Speeding under red flag | 2 | 9 October 2023 |
| United States | Falling 10 car lengths behind Safety Car | 2 | 23 October 2023 |
| Mexico City | Leaving the track and gaining an advantage | 1 | 23 October 2023 |
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