How Pierre Gasly could join Alpine in 2023 with an F1 race ban hanging over his head

Pierre Gasly is on the brink of making Formula 1 history, but it is not for the right reasons. The AlphaTauri driver has accumulated 10 penalty points over the last few months, putting him just two away from a race ban. And he could become the first driver in the sport's history to receive a ban for too many infringements.

Now, this may sound drastic, but it is not unknown to the drivers. F1 introduced the penalty points system in 2014, declaring that if a driver receives 12 penalty points within a 12-month period, he will be banned from the next race. The transgressions are wide-ranging, covering everything from causing on-track collisions to speeding in the pitlane.

Though Gasly is not the only driver with 'bad debt', he is the closest to the dreaded mark. And unfortunately, because he is fighting in the midfield, he is more likely than not to transgress as he tries to make up and fight for positions.

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If he keeps it clean?

With two races remaining in the 2022 F1 season, it could be assumed that Gasly will enter the new season with a clean slate. Well, no. Gasly's first two points came at the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix on 22 May, which means that it only expires on the same date next year.

All the other penalty points also have an expiration date, which means that a driver can still accumulate points on top of the remaining number after specific points expire.

Moreover, even if Gasly keeps his nose clean in the final two races, he will join Alpine with 10 points to his name next year. Just one two-point transgression at the opening race in Bahrain (5 March) could see him banned in just his second race for his new team, the Saudi