I have very little idea about the salary of everyone on the grid, but according to a random article I found on the internet:

Max Verstappen - $55,000,000
Lewis Hamilton - $35,000,000
Charles Leclerc - $24,000,000

…

Oscar Piastri - $2,000,000
Yuki Tsunoda - $1,000,000
Logan Sergeant - $1,000,000

And this doesn’t even include sponsorships, of which Max and Lewis have significantly more than Yuki and Logan, it seems crazy to me that a single fine can be a driver’s whole salary for the entire season. It’s just running into the same problem that speeding tickets have for regular people: the same ticket could mean not making rent for one person, and be pocket change for someone else.

Instead of fining drivers, how about a “sin bin”.

A mandatory session sit out requiring another driver to take their place. Serious offences could be one or more weekends out, minor offences just one or more practice sessions.

This has no bearing on driver earnings, other than future contracts based on penalties. It also gives more chances for reserve and junior drivers to get a drive.

Edit: Now I’m imagining a top gear stig waiting in the wings for a driver error. Maybe the stand-in drivers are picked at random from an FIA approved list rather than the team themselves.

This is actually an amazing quote. We plebs look at kmag like kmag looks at leclerc.

Or just use a percentage system based on team budget. Or better yet make it a point system, 10 infractions a year and you’re suspended. Bet that would force teams to reel their drivers in

Question is: can they suspend a portion of that fine?