Red Bull trio faces penalty points hangover in F1 2022

Chief of those is F1’s driver penalty points system – which world champion Max Verstappen in particular is going to have to be very mindful about during the forthcoming campaign.

This time last year, four Britons were at the top of the table for earning the most penalty points over the campaign, but heading into 2022 a new pattern has emerged.

During 2021, it was mainly Red Bull drivers who attracted the displeasure of the stewards.

Yuki Tsunoda currently tops the standings, ahead of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez – all three within the Red Bull camp.

The "bad boy" of Formula 1 last season was Tsunoda, who collected a whopping eight points in his rookie season for AlphaTauri thanks to six offences during the season.

His tally started at his second race in Imola, when he collected one point because of track limits.

At the Austrian Grand Prix, the Japanese driver racked up three offences over the course of the Red Bull Ring weekend.

He blocked Valtteri Bottas in qualifying and crossed the pit entry line twice during the race in violation of the rules.

In addition, he was penalised in Brazil and Saudi Arabia for a collision with an Aston Martin - first Lance Stroll and then later Sebastian Vettel.

With just one point fewer than Tsunoda, Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez start the season second pace in the penalty points standings with seven each.

But what could be especially relevant to the forthcoming title battle is that Verstappen picked up his points quite late in the 2021 campaign.

Up until the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, he had no points on his account at all. Then came the collision with Lewis Hamilton at the first chicane, for which he was blamed.

The next offence was in qualifying in Qatar, when he was