Max Verstappen is at risk of being banned in what would be a significant blow to his title defence.
The defending Formula 1 drivers’ champion heads into the 2025 season with eight points on his FIA superlicence. Should the Red Bull racer pick up four more before they begin to expire, then he will trigged an automatic one-race ban.
Under current rules, drivers who pick up a dozen points in as many months must serve that punishment. Once picked up, penalty points only expire exactly one year later – meaning Verstappen has to wait until at least the Austrian Grand Prix before his total begins to decrease.
The Spielberg race is the 11th round of the 2025 season, meaning the Dutchman will have to be very careful in earlier rounds not to put himself in even more imminent danger. Should he trigger a ban, he would be only the second F1 driver ever to do so after Kevin Magnussen became the first last year.
Missing a race could be the difference between success and failure in his quest for a fifth straight F1 drivers’ title. However, despite that risk, Verstappen remains bullish about the situation and insists he will not change his approach.
Speaking to Swiss newspaper Blick, he said: “We could discuss some of the penalties and points here for hours. Like [Fernando] Alonso, I already have eight penalty points. But I’m not going to change my driving style because of that.”
Many of Verstappen’s penalty points were accrued in the latter stages of the 2024 season as his title battle with Lando Norris reached the peak of its ferocity. The Dutchman was widely panned for his approach to on-track battles with his McLaren rival.
In particular he was criticised over the course of two rage-filled weekends in Austin and Mexico City, during both of which he was involved in controversial incidents with Norris. In the latter race, Verstappen was given 20 seconds’ worth of time penalties by the stewards for his driving, on top of the penalty points that were added to his licence.
The current penalty points system does have its detractors, though, including Magnussen who made his feelings clear after serving his one race ban last year by missing the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. “I don’t know why we need to be throwing around penalties like this,” fumed the now former Haas driver.
“Even though I go speak to [the stewards] – I have spoken to them many times, too many times – I still don’t understand what the rules are. It seems like they’re just throwing around, they don’t want racing, that’s what it seems to me… It doesn’t make sense.”
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