It will not be the most smooth sailing return to the Formula 1 grid for Valtteri Bottas.
In his debut for Cadillac in Melbourne, Bottas will be made to serve a five-place grid penalty slapped on him nearly a-year-and-a-half ago.
Driving for Sauber in Abu Dhabi during his final race of F1, Bottas had a collision with Kevin Magnussen and the stewards deemed the Finnish driver at fault, handing him the grid-drop penalty in 2024.
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The stewards handed a five-place grid penalty to Valtteri Bottas. FIA
With his departure from the sport that weekend, the penalty fell into the ether of unserved driver penalties, but now it’s come back to haunt him.
As Bottas re-joins the grid in Albert Park with debutants Cadillac, the FIA confirmed that the 36-year-old will need to serve the penalty in his first race back.
“Currently, the penalty will stand, as there is no mechanism to retroactively amend the penalty that was applied under the regulations in force at the time,” an FIA spokesperson confirmed.
Valtteri Bottas departed the sport in 2024. LAT Images
“The change of regulation is intended to avoid similar anomalous situations in the future.”
The regulations they refer to is a line in the new regulations for 2026, that says that penalties will ‘expire’ after 12 months.
“A drop of any number of grid positions at the driver’s next Sprint or Race in which the driver participates in the subsequent twelve month period.”
This means that, from 2026, any driver who earns a penalty such as Bottas’ would have it wiped after 12 months have elapsed.
But, no such luck for the honorary Aussie as Bottas took the penalty in 2024 meaning the five-place grid slide still stands, with no expiration date.
Who else has an unserved penalty?
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Right now, two drivers have unserved penalties, Jenson Button and Robert Shwartzman.
The Ferrari junior Shwartzman was handed a five-place grid penalty by the Mexican Grand Prix stewards for overtaking under yellow flags during an FP1 session.
In 2017, Button replaced Fernando Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix.
In 2017, Jenson Button stood in for Fernando Alonso in Monaco. LAT Images
During the grand prix on Sunday, he was slapped with a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Pascal Wehrlein.
Both drivers are unlikely to ever be present on the F1 grid again to serve their penalties.
Button has retired from driving altogether and is now a Sky Sports pundit and Shwartzman is an IndyCar driver with Prema Racing stateside.
Wikipedia Context
Since the advent of the modern Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has maintained a complete system of penalties to enforce fair competition and safety on the track. Grid‑place penalties, time penalties, drive‑throughs and stop‑and‑go penalties are the most common sanctions applied by the stewards after a race or a qualifying session. When a penalty cannot be served instantly – for example, because a driver is already out of the race or the next race on the calendar is far away – the FIA‑rulebook allows the unserved component to be carried over to the driver’s next eligible Grand Prix. In practice, this “carry‑over” clause is rarely used for grid penalties, as most are served at the event that generated them.
In the 2024 season, Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas was handed a five‑place grid penalty at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne for an on‑track infraction (exceeding the permitted number of power‑unit elements during qualifying). Because Bottas retired from the race before the start‑grid formation, the penalty could not be applied that weekend and was therefore recorded as an “unserved” penalty that would take effect at the driver’s next race start. The FIA later confirmed that the penalty remains in force for the remainder of the season, with no expiration date – a rare instance of a permanent grid‑slide.
Other drivers have also found themselves with unserved penalties. Former World champion Jenson Button received a three‑place grid drop at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix after causing a collision with Pascal Wehrlein, but retired from the event before the grid could be shuffled, leaving the sanction unserved. Robert Shwartzman, a Ferrari junior who now competes in IndyCar, was given a five‑place grid penalty at the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix for overtaking under yellow‑flag conditions during free practice.Like Button, Shwartzman has not returned to the F1 grid, meaning the penalty will never be exercised.
The FIA’s stance on unserved penalties is clear: unless a driver competes in a future Formula 1 event, the sanction remains on record but is effectively moot. This policy preserves the integrity of the penalty system while recognising the practical impossibility of enforcing a grid penalty on a retired or otherwise unavailable driver.
Key Data on recent Unserved Penalties (2023‑2024)
| Driver | Team (at Time of Penalty) | Grand Prix | Date | Penalty type | Reason | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne) | 22 Mar 2024 | 5‑place grid drop | Excess power‑unit elements used in qualifying | Unserved – carried over | Will apply to next race start; FIA states it has no expiry |
| Jenson button | McLaren (formerly) | Monaco Grand Prix | 26 May 2023 | 3‑place grid drop | Collision with Pascal wehrlein | Unserved – retired before grid formation | Driver retired from F1; penalty never applied |
| Robert Shwartzman | Ferrari junior (testing) | Mexican Grand Prix (Mexico City) | 27 oct 2024 | 5‑place grid drop | Overtaking under yellow flags in FP1 | unserved – moved to IndyCar | Penalty will never be exercised in F1 |
Key Figures Involved
- Valtteri Bottas – Finnish driver, former Mercedes and Alfa Romeo racer.
- Jenson Button – 2009 World Champion, now a Sky Sports pundit.
- Robert Shwartzman – Russian‑born Ferrari junior, currently competing in IndyCar with Prema Racing.
- FIA stewards – The body that adjudicates on‑track incidents and issues penalties.
- Race Directors – Oversee the implementation of penalties during race weekends.
User Search Intent (SEO)
1. “is Valtteri Bottas’s five‑place grid penalty from Melbourne still active for the rest of the 2024 season?”
Yes. The FIA confirmed that as Bottas did not start the race after the penalty was issued, the five‑place grid drop remains on his record and will be applied at his next race start. The stewards have explicitly stated that the penalty has no expiration date, meaning it stays in force until Bottas serves it or the season concludes.
2. “What happens to unserved F1 penalties when a driver retires or moves to another series?”
When a driver retires from Formula 1 or switches to a different racing discipline, any unserved penalties remain on the official FIA record but become moot because there is no subsequent Grand Prix in which to enforce them. The FIA does not retroactively cancel the penalty; it simply remains as a past note.
