F1 penalties explained

What each stewards' outcome actually means, when it escalates to the next one, and every example on record. Plain English, straight from the FIA documents.

Reprimand A formal, recorded warning with no time or grid penalty. It marks that a driver did something wrong without changing their result. 29 on record
5-second penalty Five seconds added to the driver’s race time, or served at their next pit stop before any work is done on the car. The most common in-race sanction. 61 on record
10-second penalty Ten seconds added to race time, or served at the next stop before work on the car - one step up from a 5-second penalty. 34 on record
Drive-through penalty The driver must drive through the pit lane at the speed limit without stopping, then rejoin - costing roughly 20 seconds, more than a 10-second penalty. 6 on record
Stop-and-go penalty The driver stops in their pit box for a set time (usually 10 seconds) with no work allowed on the car, then rejoins - the harshest in-race penalty short of disqualification. 4 on record
Grid penalty A number of places dropped on the starting grid of the next race - commonly for power-unit or gearbox component changes, or a penalty carried across the weekend. 25 on record
Disqualification (DSQ) The driver is excluded from the session results and scores no points - for a technical breach (an illegal car) or a serious sporting offence. 11 on record
Deleted lap time A lap time is struck from the results - almost always for exceeding track limits (all four wheels beyond the white line) in practice or qualifying. 115 on record
No penalty (NPA) The stewards investigated and found no punishable offence - a “no further action” ruling that clears the incident and leaves the result unchanged. 14 on record
Black-and-white flag A warning flag shown for unsportsmanlike behaviour or repeated track-limits abuse - the on-track equivalent of a yellow card. Not a penalty in itself.