Valtteri Bottas will not have to serve his five-place grid penalty at the Australian Grand Prix. The penalty was originally given to Bottas in his final F1 race as a Kick Sauber driver at the end of 2024.
Bottas’s Unserved Grid Penalty
According to sporting regulations, specifically article B2.5.4, drivers with 15 or fewer cumulative unserved grid penalties for the Race imposed in the previous twelve months will be allocated a temporary grid position equal to their Qualifying session classification plus the sum of their unserved grid penalties. Because Bottas’s penalty was issued before the 12-month time limit, he will not have to serve it.
Drivers Carrying Penalty Points into 2026
Several drivers will begin the 2026 F1 season with penalty points on their Super Licence. These points remain for 12 months before expiring. A driver who accumulates 12 points within that timeframe will receive a one-race ban.
- Oscar Piastri has 4 penalty points.
- Kimi Antonelli has 5 penalty points.
- Max Verstappen has 3 penalty points.
- Charles Leclerc has 1 penalty point.
- Lewis Hamilton has 3 penalty points.
- George Russell has 0 penalty points.
Penalty Points Breakdown
Oscar Piastri’s penalty points include 2 points from the 2025 British Grand Prix for erratic braking on the straight before a Safety Car restart, expiring on July 6, 2026, and 2 points from the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix for causing a collision with Kimi Antonelli, expiring on November 9, 2026.
Kimi Antonelli’s penalties include 2 points from the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix for causing a collision with Max Verstappen, expiring on June 29, 2026. He also has 2 points from the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix for causing a collision with Charles Leclerc, expiring on August 31, 2026, and 1 point from the 2025 Italian Grand Prix for driving erratically, expiring on September 7, 2026.
Max Verstappen has 3 points from the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix for causing a collision with George Russell, expiring on June 1, 2026.
Charles Leclerc has 1 point from the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix for erratic driving, expiring on August 3, 2026.
Lewis Hamilton’s penalty points include 2 points from the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix for failing to slow under double yellow flags at pit entry pre-race, expiring on August 31, 2026. He also has 1 point from the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix for causing a collision with Franco Colapinto, expiring on November 9, 2026.
Hamilton also has 2 points from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix for causing a collision with Franco Colapinto, expiring on September 1, 2026; 1 point from the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix for causing a collision with Lewis Hamilton, expiring on November 23, 2026; 2 points from the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix for forcing Kimi Antonelli off the track, expiring on April 13, 2026; 2 points from the 2025 United States Grand Prix for causing a collision with Kimi Antonelli, expiring on October 19, 2026; and 1 point from the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix.
With the 2026 F1 season nearly upon us and a reset of the technical regulations, the teams have something of a clean slate to begin the campaign.