Max Verstappen must seriously consider a suspension in the upcoming Grands Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver has accumulated eleven penalty points on his super license in the past twelve months. A twelfth penalty point automatically results in a race exclusion.
The 27-year-old Verstappen has been on edge since the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago in Barcelona. There, he received three penalty points after an incident with Mercedes driver George Russell.
If Verstappen incurs another penalty point this weekend in Canada, he will be suspended for the next race in Austria. This also applies if he receives a penalty point in Montreal for an incident during free practice or qualifying.
With a penalty point in training or qualifying, he may still start in the race in Canada. The FIA informs NU.nl that the regulation has been deliberately drawn up so that teams have sufficient time to call in a replacement. After serving a possible suspension, all penalty points on Verstappen’s license will expire.
A suspension in Austria, Red Bull’s home race, would be particularly painful for Verstappen and his fans. Tens of thousands of Dutch people travel to the Red Bull Ring every year. Around 70,000 spectators are expected this year as well.
Since the introduction of the penalty point system in 2014, it has only happened once that a driver was suspended: Kevin Magnussen missed the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last year.
Penalty points remain valid for exactly twelve months. For Verstappen, this means that his first points will not expire until after the Austrian Grand Prix on June 30. He received those points last year for an incident with Lando Norris.
After that, it will be a while before the next penalty points are removed. Until the Mexican Grand Prix – the twentieth race of the season – Verstappen holds at least nine penalty points. Only after that will two more expire.
Verstappen is currently the only driver who has to seriously fear a suspension. Liam Lawson is second on the penalty point list with six points. This is followed by Nico Hülkenberg, Oscar Piastri, Jack Doohan and Oliver Bearman with four points each.
The time penalty in Spain also cost Verstappen dearly in sporting terms. He starts the race in Canada with a 49-point deficit behind WK leader Piastri. In second place, Norris is 39 points behind.