“A complete restart”- FIA eases penalty on reprimands following the 23-race calendar in 2022

Ahead of the 2022 season which comprises 23 races, the FIA has made some changes in the rulebook in the penalties section.

Formula 1 is set to experience a complete restart in the 2022 season. Apart from the 18-inch tyre, technical changes to the car, the FIA has also made some changes in the rulebook in the penalties section.

It is known that the stewards can issue warnings if the drivers show any carelessness on the track. Until the 2021 season, the drivers were given two reprimands before a serious consequence followed with the third one.

FIA should extend the penalty points for a race ban to 15-20 points as well https://t.co/SELgc8B9B5

— S (@F1_Madness_) February 2, 2022

Now, the FIA has decided to ease the reprimands on drivers following the 23-race calendar for 2022. From the upcoming season, the drivers will be given four warnings instead of two before a serious consequence take place. Thus the drivers will have a total of five reprimands.

However, there is one condition. Four of these five warnings must be because of so-called driving infringements, i.e. for misconduct on the track.

Also Read: Max Verstappen does not hold any grudges against the FIA stewards despite having fiery altercations with them in 2021

FIA wants to reduce the risk

The FIA has introduced the change in rules in light of the increased number of races on the calendar. When the three-warning rule was introduced, a season only comprised 17 races. Now that there are 23-races in one season, the risk of a driver entering the dangerous zone of the track is higher.

In the previous season, eleven of the 20 regular drivers were given warnings. Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Esteban Ocon were each given two warnings.

Although the racers have to be more cautious with penalty points. If 12 penalty points have been collected by a driver within 12 months, it automatically bans the driver from the race

Ahead of the new season, some drivers are already almost at the edge. With Yuki Tsunoda (8), Sergio Perez (7) and Max Verstappen (7), three drivers from the Red Bull squad are at the top end of the list.

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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