Three points for two separate incidents in Abu Dhabi finale means Verstappen now just four away from a one-race ban
Wednesday 2 December 2015 15:37, UK
Max Verstappen picked up three points on his superlicence in the Abu Dhabi GP to end his rookie season as F1's most penalised driver - and just four away from a race ban.
The 18-year-old, whose 12th place in the Drivers' Championship means he ends 2015 as F1's top debutant, endured a finale to forget on Sunday as an early change for flat-spotted tyres was followed by two separate time penalties.
First, Verstappen was handed a five-second sanction for overtaking McLaren's Jenson Button while off the track, before he then had 20 seconds added to his final race time for ignoring blue flags when being lapped by Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the closing stages. He dropped from 12th to 16th in the final classification.
The incidents also earned the Dutchman one and two penalty points respectively, leaving him on eight for the season - the most of anyone on the grid.
Drivers who reach 12 points in any 12-month period are suspended for one race, a limit no one has yet reached since the penalty system was introduced in 2014.
Verstappen's previous points were accrued in Monaco in May, when he crashed in to the back of Romain Grosjean at Ste Devote, and two months later in Hungary for speeding behind the Safety Car.
Lotus' Pastor Maldonado picked up the second highest amount of penalty points in 2015, six, with Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson all collecting four.
Six drivers - including Nico Rosberg and Verstappen's team-mate Carlos Sainz - end the year with a clean licence.
Max Verstappen - 8 (Monaco: 2; Hungary 3; Abu Dhabi: 3)
Pastor Maldonado - 6 (Malaysia: 3; Hungary 2; Brazil: 1)
Nico Hulkenberg - 4 (Malaysia: 2; Singapore: 2)
Romain Grosjean - 4 (Canada: 2; Hungary: 2)
Marcus Ericsson - 4 (Austria: 2; Italy 2)
Sebastian Vettel - 3 (Canada)
Kimi Raikkonen - 3 (Russia)
Two points - Sergio Perez, Felipe Nasr, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Daniil Kvyat, Lewis Hamilton, Roberto Merhi, Valtteri Bottas
Zero points - Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa, Will Stevens, Carlos Sainz, Alexander Rossi
Don't miss the F1 Midweek Report for analysis of the Abu Dhabi GP and all the latest F1 news. Former BAR boss David Richards and car designer Gary Anderson join Natalie Pinkham on Sky Sports F1 at 8:30pm on Wednesday.
