Pierre Gasly may live to regret his defensive move against Lance Stroll in Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix as it has put the Frenchman on the brink of an F1 race ban.

The AlphaTauri charger was battling Stroll for position as the pair headed side-by-side in Turn 4. But Gasly ran deep into the corner on the inside, locked up and ran his opponent wide on the exit, a move that was frowned upon by the stewards who handed the Frenchamn a five-second time penalty.

However, a penalty point on Gasly's licence was also attached to the sanction, which brought his twelve-month rolling total to 10 points, or just two points short of an outright ban. Sunday's punishment was his third infringement in a row.

To make matters worse, Gasly's next reset isn't until May of next year, which means that he'll need to keep his nose clean in the last two races of 2022 and in the first seven races of 2023!

"I don’t feel like I’ve been that dangerous over the last 12 months," commented the future Alpine charger before Sunday's race, fully aware of the risk he carried.

"It would be a shame to get a race ban for slowing down a bit too much behind the safety car and a couple of track limits [infringements] this year."

There seems to a consensus among the officials, let alone the drivers, that it's perhaps time to update the penalty points system to avoid drivers accumulating points on their superlicence for minor infringements.

"At the moment you’re losing points for these safety-car infringements or track limits, and obviously the penalty for it is a race ban, which we all agree and also the stewards agree is quite harsh," said Gasly.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

27 mins ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

2 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

3 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

4 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

5 hours ago

Ferrari and Mercedes admit to plank changes based on FIA’s TD

Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…

6 hours ago