Pierre Gasly has admitted he’s embarrassed at the prospect of missing a grand prix after accruing 10 Formula 1 penalty points in the last 12 months.
The Frenchman is potentially one on-track incident away from a one-race ban. That would make him only the seventh driver to be officially forced to sit out a race in F1 history.
He would also be the first under the current Super Licence system which was introduced in 2014.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s a very unpleasant situation and quite delicate and, in some ways, also a bit embarrassing to be standing in a position where I will be banned for a race after the season that I’ve done it,” Gasly said.
“I don’t really feel like I’ve been particularly dangerous over these last 12 months. And that will be definitely a harsh penalty.
“But there have been a lot of discussions with the FIA, trying to find a solution because, personally, I want to do all the races.
“I want to finish the season in the best way I can with AlphaTauri, I want to do all the races in 2023 and get the maximum chances to perform for Alpine.”
Formula 1 penalty points remain on a driver’s licence for a 12-month period, with Gasly not set to regain any until mid-May next year.
He, therefore, faces the prospect of racing the opening seven rounds of 2023 with the knowledge that a minor incident could rub him out for the following event.
“Obviously, there is a lot of a lot at stake because no one knows what’s going to happen in ’23,” the 26-year-old reasoned.
“I could end up with an amazing car fighting for the championship for example, and can’t take the risk to be banned for a race and lose all my hopes for the championship.
“So it’s a very tricky situation.
“I’ve been discussing quite a lot with the FIA to try to find solutions because the way the regulation is written at the moment, it’s quite strict on the drivers and quite harsh penalties even though it’s not always related to dangerous driving and definitely the penalties has massive repercussions on the team and drivers championships.
“We’re going to have again more conversation today but I do hope we can find a solution out of the weekend to avoid to end up in a silly situation where I’ll be banned for a race – that will be terrible for myself and definitely not the way that I’ve seen the sport growing up.
“I don’t think that’s the correct approach,” he added.
“Obviously I can’t really go into next year with only two points and that risk over my head.
“But at the same time, at the moment, there is no clear solution.”
When introduced, the Formula 1 season contained 19 races.
That has since grown to 22, and potentially as many as 24 next year should every event go ahead, though the points concession for drivers has not changed.
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