As a result of picking up 12 penalty points in Formula 2 this season, Olli Caldwell of Campos Racing has been suspended for this weekend’s round at Spa-Francorchamps. With Caldwell being the second driver to have received a race ban this season, F1 Feeder Series examines those drivers at risk with four rounds remaining in the calendar.

By Tyler Foster

Penalty points in Formula 2 are acquired similarly to how they are in Formula 1 in Formula 3, with drivers receiving points for offences such as exceeding track limits, causing collisions or speeding under the Safety Car. The number of points received depends on the severity of the offence.

Harsh punishments

In the regulations for Formula 2, receiving a 12th penalty point triggers an automatic ban for the next round in the championship in which the offending driver is due to partake. Once a driver has served their suspension, the points on their racing license are wiped, but they may continue to accumulate points if further offences occur. This means that another 12 points results in another race ban.

British driver Caldwell picked up his 12th penalty point at the Hungaroring, the last round before the summer break. Caldwell got off to a rocky start in Bahrain by accumulating seven points, the most of any driver this year in a single round. His latest penalty was for leaving the track without a justifiable reason on four occasions during the Feature Race. He got a five-second time penalty as well as one penalty point, bringing his total from 11 to 12 and leading to his ban for Spa.

Van Amersfoort Racing driver Amaury Cordeel received a suspension for the Silverstone round at the beginning of July after picking up nine points in just two rounds earlier in the season in Jeddah and Imola. Upon his return to the track at the Red Bull Ring, the Belgian picked up four points, his current total. His rate of points accumulation makes him one to watch for a potential second ban.

Drivers at risk

DAMS driver Roy Nissany is most at risk of picking up a ban, having reached eleven at the previous round. A single point from the final four weekends will hand the Israeli a suspension. There are two drivers on eight points – rookies Ayumu Iwasa and Clément Novalak – while Frederik Vesti is on six and Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson are on five apiece. The DAMS pairing of Nissany and Iwasa has been prone to errors, with the Japanese rookie scoring six points in a single weekend in Monaco.

Every other driver has fewer than five penalty points, with only Cem Bölükbaşı and Williams Driver Academy hotshot Logan Sargeant yet to pick up any. However, all it takes is one troublesome weekend for a driver to be at risk, so keep an eye out for big swings over the next three rounds at Spa, Zandvoort and Monza, which take place on consecutive weekends.

2022 Formula 2 penalty points (after Hungary)

Driver	Penalty points
Amaury Cordeel	16
Olli Caldwell	12
Roy Nissany	11
Ayumu Iwasa	8
Clement Novalak	8
Frederik Vesti	6
Jack Doohan	5
Liam Lawson	5
Enzo Fittipaldi	4
Ralph Boschung	4
Richard Verschoor	3
Dennis Hauger	3
Jake Hughes	3
Jehan Daruvala	3
Juri Vips	3
Roberto Merhi	2
David Beckmann	2
Marcus Armstrong	2
Felipe Drugovich	1
Marino Sato	1
Theo Pourchaire	1
Calan Williams	1

Header photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool