F1 News: Pierre Gasly says race ban could cost him in a 2023 championship fight
Pierre Gasly is precariously close to a race ban but remains hopeful his penalty points will not impact his prospects with Alpine next season.
The Frenchman is only two penalty points away from an automatic race ban, and he won't have any points removed until May 2023.
Some have even suggested that Gasly intentionally take a penalty and subsequent race ban before the end of the year to start his Alpine career with a clean slate.
However, Gasly has already made clear that he intends to finish his time with AlphaTauri on a high note, so this seems an almost impossible scenario.
Still, it will be crucial for the 26-year-old to avoid minor incidents or infringements in the next stretch of races.
Speaking to the media in Brazil, Gasly outlined what is at stake with his penalty situation:
"There has been a lot of discussion 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.
"And obviously, there's a lot at stake because no one knows what's going to happen in 2023.
"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...
"I've been discussing quite a lot with the FIA to try to find solutions because the way regulations are written at the moment, it's quite strict on the drivers and quite harsh penalties."
Few would dispute that Gasly is nowhere near deserving of a race ban, with most of his penalty points coming from relatively minor infringements.
Unfortunately for Gasly, regardless of the fairness of his penalties, he will be forced to drive at his cleanest in the upcoming Grand Prix.