F1 drivers reckon there could be discussions over the penalty points after Pierre Gasly raised the point with him being still close to a race ban.
Gasly, having signed with Alpine for 2023, has been the ‘bad boy’ in terms of superlicence points gained throughout the 2022 F1 season. He is in a tough position still with 10 on his licence as it stands where two more will result in a race ban.
It is a strange scenario for the Rouen driver. Gasly himself is a little mystified and he isn’t the only one but is top of the list in terms of punishment. But, previous communication with him and genuinely feels hard done by as he does feel he has not done much wrong to garner 10 points as it is.
Even though he ended 2022 season without much trouble, he will have to start 2023 cautiously since his points won’t start to cut by end of April and by then the season will already see 2-3 races done. Gasly insisted of discussions with the FIA about a review of the system and some of his F1 rivals agreed to it as well.
Here’s what they said:
Alexander Albon: “Definitely. I mean, I’m quite high up there as well and I completely agree with Pierre. I think, just to give some context to it. I think I have three points on my licence, and they’re down to track limits, which is something which is not dangerous at all. I’m not harming any other driver or myself in that situation. I think I’ve got another two points for collision with Stroll in Jeddah, which I think at the end of the race, we, as drivers we deemed wasn’t my fault. So, there are a lot of points on my licence, which I don’t think I deserved. And I think… we are discussing it, I think there is going to be a change.
“It’s obviously… Well, firstly, we’ve already got the points on our licence. So what happens then? Because even if we do make steps forward into next year, do the points that we just got for previous races, do they stay on or whatever? So, I think, yeah, we do need to do something about it. And I don’t think any of us are dangerous drivers. But I do understand, of course, you should punish drivers if they do dangerous things, but I think a lot of the points that everyone has right now aren’t because of dangerous things.”
Valtteri Bottas: “I think there’s already been good discussions. And I think it’s better to keep it internal. But from my understanding, there will be some changes made for the future, because for sure, some of the things that these guy’s been getting the points, it’s not dangerous. I think the points should be only given when it’s really dangerous and can be harm to yourself or somebody else on track. So, I think we will see progress being made but I don’t think Pierre would deserve to be in that kind of situation on the edge. But that’s the rule now, but the main thing is how we act with that in the future.”
Sergio Perez: “It will be good for Pierre to miss a race! No, I definitely feel like there are things that are not even related to his driving. And we get points for that. So I think what it’s not related to bad driving or mistakes, there shouldn’t be a penalty and it will be really bad if he ends up losing a race for that”.
It is a peculiar and kind of amusing scenario to say the very least. As Gasly alluded, if there is a discussion, the FIA could be determining if certain rule break requires penalty points of not. The drivers can feel aggrieved as they are up at the top but it is same for all.
Here’s Pierre Gasly at Honda Thanks Day
Here’s Pierre Gasly on his first time with Alpine
Here’s Pierre Gasly being upset about the situation