The French driver had ten points on his super license and risked being disqualified

Pierre Gasly went through a tense moment over his superlicense. The French driver had ten points in his “portfolio” and was only two steps away from suffering the maximum penalty: being excluded from a race during the 2023 season of Formula 1.

According to the sporting regulations, when a driver reaches 12 points in the super license he is disqualified from the GP following the penalty. Once the penalty is completed, the driver has no points and can “restart”. As in real life, the points expire one year after the offense was committed.

Due to the penalty received in Mexico City last season for trying to overtake Lance Stroll – which took Gasly to ten points – many have considered the crazy idea that the Frenchman would serve this penalty at the end of 2022, before starting with Alpine, your new team.

An idea which obviously did not materialize, but which led Gasly to face the risk of disqualification for several rounds of the world championship, not only at the end of 2022, but also at the beginning of 2023.

Gasly has been banned six times during the 2022 season, starting with the two points he received in May at the Australian Grand Prix weekend for an incident that also involved a Canadian driver from Aston Martin. Further points were awarded for a collision with Sebastian Vettel at the Austrian Grand Prix weekend and for breaking the speed limit under a red flag in Japan.

Heavy points, which are added to those obtained in the United States for not respecting the maximum distance limit of ten cars in a Safety Car situation and for having taken Stroll off the track in an overtaking attempt.

After being just two penalty points away from possible disqualification, the Alpine rider managed to stay out of trouble, although he still risked being penalized in certain situations, mainly during the Australian GP weekend, for contact with your teammate.

With the cancellation of the Imola stage, rightly canceled after the floods that have unfortunately hit Emilia-Romagna in recent weeks, Gasly is breathing again. At the end of the year, in fact, the Frenchman will make up for the two points he received in Spain last season, going from ten to eight points on his license.

While he still runs the risk of being disqualified if he commits new faults during the season, since he will only recover two more points in mid-July, this will give him more leeway in next rounds of the championship.

Join the Motorsport.com Members Club on YouTube