Following a competitive start to the 2022 season, who has ended the first half at the top of the penalty points standings?
Driver penalty points are accrued for indiscretions over a given race weekend, and are kept on a driver's licence for a 12-month period.
Further punishments are handed out if a driver reaches 12 penalty points in the 12-month period.
Across a remarkable season so far, our main championship challengers, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, are yet to pick up any penalty points in 2022.
However, owing to the points he accrued last season (and therefore still within the 12-month timeframe), Verstappen remains at the top of the penalty points table, joint first with Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) on seven points.
Two of Verstappen's points will expire on 12 September, or just after the Italian Grand Prix in three races' time.
Albon accruing points on F1 return
Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, has also had a clean start to 2022, as have Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Mick Schumacher (Haas).
Conversely, F1 returnee Alex Albon has had a punishing start to his Williams career; he has picked up six penalty points since 27 March, and is tied with Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon (both Alpine).
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll is next on five points, with F1 rookie Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) on four points since his F1 debut in March.
McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo is on three points, all picked up this year, whilst only four drivers have a fully clean licence; Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz and Schumacher.
View the full penalty points list below:
F1 driver penalty points after the Hungarian GP
| Driver | Number of penalty points | Date of next points expiry |
|---|---|---|
| Pierre Gasly | 7 | 10 October |
| Max Verstappen | 7 | 12 September |
| Alexander Albon | 6 | 27 March |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 6 | 14 November |
| Fernando Alonso | 6 | 10 October |
| Esteban Ocon | 6 | 12 September |
| Lance Stroll | 5 | 26 September |
| Guanyu Zhou | 4 | 27 March |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 3 | 27 March |
| George Russell | 2 | 10 July |
| Kevin Magnussen | 2 | 8 May |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1 | 10 July |
| Lando Norris | 1 | 10 July |
| Nicholas Latifi | 1 | 12 June |
| Sergio Perez | 1 | 18 April |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 | 21 November |
| Lewis Hamilton | 0 | - |
| Charles Leclerc | 0 | - |
| Carlos Sainz | 0 | - |
| Mick Schumacher | 0 | - |
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