Reckless Formula One drivers have been warned that the introduction of a 'football-style' penalty points system may lead to them facing race bans in future.
Discussions into the viability of a revised punishment system for dangerous or other irregular driving are expected to take place at next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix and could be introduced later this year.
International Motoring Federation (FIA) race director Charlie Whiting is due to meet the teams at a meeting of the Sporting Working Group think-tank ahead of the Barcelona race to discuss potential future rule changes.
"It's a complex question and we need to get the balance right because banning a driver is a serious issue," he said. "We need to make sure a driver genuinely deserves any ban.
"We will be monitoring offences and running a (hypothetical) system in the background to see how it would all work if put into practice. We need to do that for a while."
Although there has been some support for the new idea from a number of teams, there has not yet been the necessary unanimous approval required. If this changes, a new rule could be drafted in this season.
Teams and drivers are anxious that a series of relatively minor infringements by a driver could lead to a ban.
