In this long winter break, in addition to the well-deserved holidays, the riders and teams will have to face an intense program of preparation for the next season, with a faster pace than the one that has just ended. A further challenge for those who change shirts or for the three rockie which we will see on the track in 2023. The driver market for 2023 was quite hectic, there were no less than 6 line up changes, and 4 "farewells". One of the most anticipated changes is to Pierre Gasly in Alpine, fourth strength of the 2022 World Cup. Pierre ended his adventure in AlphaTauri with a disappointing chain of failures also characterized by a shower of penalties, in the last phase of the season, which put him at serious risk of disqualification, lighting a controversy with the FIA.
Pierre is the one who risks the most
Pierre's situation is the most delicate. The Frenchman was greatly affected by the decisions of the race stewards, who repeatedly inflicted a penalty on him which included the reduction of points, bringing him to a total of 10 points out of the 12 allowed by the regulation. Gasly has no more margin for error since points don't reset at the end of a season, but 12 months after their assignment. The first points will be reset on May 22, 2023, so Pierre will not be able to commit infringements at least for the first 7 races. Should he obtain another 2 penalty points, the Frenchman will be forced to miss a race by disqualification.
A situation that he has repeatedly criticized, asking the FIA to reduce the penalties inflicted even for less serious accidents. Having to make his debut with Alpine, a disqualification in the first phase of his new experience is precisely the last of Gasly's wishes, who commented on his own situation in this way.
“I try not to think about it, because I don't consider myself a stupid or dangerous driver Pierre said. “I want to watch out for all the penalty points, especially those related to procedures and stuff like that. I think my approach to racing has remained the same, e i hope really that during the winter we can review the old system, because I don't think I'll be the only one who gets into trouble if we keep this up. Would be a shame see four or five riders banned for one race and have a championship with some guys losing a GP.”
The situation of others
Like him, there are other riders who are dangerously close to the margin, even if with a greater gap. So let's see the situation of each driver, excluding those we won't see in 2023 such as Ricciardo, Schumacher, Vettel, Latifi, or those who will make their debut as roockie next season. Ricciardo, however, will be third driver for Red Bull and we could see him in action should the relationship between the team and Perez deteriorate. In that case Daniel has accumulated 8 points out of 12 and the first two will reset in March and May. Besides Pierre, the two riders most at risk are Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon.
Pierre Gasly = 10 points
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Spain 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 22-May-23 |
| 2 | Austria 2022 | Accident | 10-Jul-23 |
| 1 | Austria 2022 | Track limits | 10-Jul-23 |
| 2 | Japan 2022 | Speeding with red flag | 09-Oct-23 |
| 2 | USA 2022 | Failure to respect the distance of 10 cars from the SC | 23-Oct-23 |
| 1 | Mexico 2022 | Taken advantage of leaving the trail | 30-Oct-23 |
Lance Stroll = 8
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Australia 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 09-Apr-23 |
| 1 | Australia 2022 | More than a change of direction | 10-Apr-23 |
| 2 | USA 2022 | Accident | 23-Oct-23 |
| 3 | Brazil 2022 | Dangerous maneuver | 12-Nov-23 |
Alexander Albon = 7
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Saudi Arabia 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 27-Mar-23 |
| 1 | Spain 2022 | Left tracked for no reason on multiple occasions | 22-May-23 |
| 1 | Monaco 2022 | Taken advantage of leaving the trail | 29-May-23 |
| 2 | Austria 2022 | Forced another driver off the track | 09-Jul-23 |
| 1 | USA 2022 | Taken advantage of leaving the trail | 23-Oct-23 |
Fernando Alonso = 6
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Miami 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 08-May-23 |
| 1 | Miami 2022 | Taken advantage of leaving the trail | 08-May-23 |
| 1 | Canada 2022 | More than a change of direction | 20-Jun-23 |
| 2 | Brazil 2022 | Accident | 12-Nov-23 |
Esteban Ocon = 5
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Bahrain 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 20-Mar-23 |
| 1 | Monaco 2022 | Accident | 29-May-23 |
| 2 | France 2022 | Accident | 24-Jul-23 |
Zhou Guanyu = 4
| Points 1 | Grand Prix Saudi Arabia 2022 | Motivation Taken advantage of leaving the trail | Expiration date 27-Mar-23 |
| 1 | Austria 2022 | Track limits | 10-Jul-23 |
| 2 | France 2022 | Accident | 24-Jul-23 |
George Russell = 4
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Austria 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 10-Jul-23 |
| 2 | USA 2022 | Accident | 23-Oct-23 |
Yuki Tsunoda = 4 *
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Great Britain 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 03-Jul-23 |
| 2 | Italia 2022 | Failure to slow down with double yellow flag | 09-Sep-23 |
Kevin Magnussen = 3
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Miami 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 08-May-23 |
| 1 | Italia 2022 | Taken advantage of leaving the trail | 11-Sep-23 |
Lando Norris = 3
| Points 1 | Grand Prix Austria 2022 | Motivation Track limits | Expiration date 10-Jul-23 |
| 2 | Brazil 2022 | Accident | 13-Nov-23 |
Sergio Perez = 2
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Singapore 486066 | Motivation Failure to respect the distance of 10 cars from the SC | Expiration date 02-Oct-23 |
Max Verstappen = 2 *
| Points 2 | Grand Prix Brazil 2022 | Motivation Accident | Expiration date 13-Nov-23 |
Charles Leclerc = 1
| Points 1 | Grand Prix Japan 2022 | Motivation Taken advantage of leaving the trail | Expiration date 09-Oct-23 |
Lewis Hamilton Carlos Sainz e Valtteri Bottas, in addition to new pilots, will start from 0 points in 2023.
Source statements: Passion formula
