FIA confirms F1’s penalty points system won’t be reviewed until 2022

F1’s penalty points system came under scrutiny following the Austria double-header after Norris picked up two points on his licence for pushing Sergio Perez off the track at Turn 4.

That brought his total up to 10 for the 12-month period, just two off a race ban.

Thankfully for the McLaren driver, two of the points he picked up last year will be chalked off ahead of next weekend’s British Grand Prix, reducing the number on his licence to eight.

Norris and championship leader Max Verstappen have called for the way points are distributed to be looked at, while McLaren boss Andreas Seidl also agreed.

Speaking after the Austrian GP, Masi revealed that the teams agreed to how penalty points are awarded in F1 and the system cannot be changed until next season.

“To be fair, it’s a penalty point system that exists, it’s been there all the way through, no different to drivers on the road in the countries that have the maximum number of points that they have to abide by,” Masi said. “They have to adjust driving style and stuff accordingly. 

“I don’t think they’re harsh, it was discussed late last year, and it’s funny because it affects different drivers and teams in different ways. The consensus was at the end of last year, involving teams, the FIA and F1 that there shouldn’t be a change for this year. It’s not something that we would ever change mid-year. 

“The penalty scale is something the teams all agree upon and actually have input to at the start of the year. It’s what the stewards use.”