Drive-through penalty

A drive-through penalty obliges the car to enter the pit lane and drive its full length at the pit speed limit, without stopping, before rejoining the race. The time lost is whatever the pit lane transit costs at that circuit, typically tens of seconds against cars staying on track.

It is the standard sanction for smaller infringements: minor contact, pit procedure slips, repeated track-limit abuse. In a six-hour race a drive-through rarely decides anything on its own; in the final hour of a close class fight it absolutely can.