Driver penalties became a major talking point in 2016 as teams urged stewards to ease up on the number of sanctions being handed down . 2011-16 penalties data 2011 penalties index 2012 penalties index 2013 penalties index 2014 penalties index 2015 penalties index 2016 penalties index Just last week Derek Warwick , one of several ex-F1 drivers now involved in F1 officiating, urged the FIA to “take away all these penalties” and “get back to harder, harsher racing” . However following a record-breaking 2015 during which over 100 penalties were issued the total number of sanctions fell slightly in 2016. As the calendar had grown from 19 races to 21, that meant the average number of penalties per race fell by 15%, from 5.3 to 4.5. The number of investigations dropped by almost 20%, from 8.6 to 6.9. This graph shows the total penalties handed down over the last six seasons, whether they were incurred by a driver or team, and how many … [Read more...] about Has F1 hit ‘peak penalties’? Fewer sanctions in 2016