Max Verstappen is not going to adjust his driving style now that he is close to a suspension. The Dutchman enters the Grand Prix weekend in Canada with eleven penalty points, while a twelfth penalty point results in a race exclusion.
“The situation doesn’t change anything for me,” Verstappen said on Thursday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. “Why should I change my approach? It is what it is. I was on eight penalty points, now on eleven. I’m not going to hold back during battles. I’m going to race like I always do.”
The 27-year-old Verstappen received three penalty points on his license two weeks ago after a collision with the equally old George Russell at the Grand Prix of Spain. The Red Bull driver did not want to immediately wear the hair shirt after the race, but still came back to the incident on Instagram a day later.
In that post, Verstappen acknowledged that he should have acted differently around the incident. “That’s how it goes sometimes,” he continued. “I said what I thought about it and then happily continued with my day.”
Verstappen doesn’t dare to say whether his competitors are going to take more risks because they know he is on edge. “But even if they did, it’s not in my interest to adjust. I race the way I want to race. I don’t have much more to lose anyway.”
‘Everyone makes mistakes in life’
In Verstappen’s ten-minute media session, almost the entire time was about the incident with Russell and his impending suspension. According to the four-time world champion, his frustrations came out due to a confluence of circumstances.
“It also partly had to do with the communication about giving back the position. From my side, I didn’t think that was correct. If you look at the onboard images, I think we should have just continued driving at that moment. But I got the instruction to let George pass.”
Verstappen also became frustrated when his team put him on hard tires during a pit stop under a safety car. “Everything happened for a few laps in a row. On the straight I got hit and shortly before that I almost had a crash with those hard tires. Then I got hit again in turn one. And then they also said that I had to give back the place. It was a lot of things that came together.”
According to Verstappen, “a misjudgment” led to him coming into contact with Russell. “But I don’t need to analyze in detail why or how. Everyone makes mistakes in life, you learn from them and then you move on.”
Verstappen would be satisfied with a podium in Canada
Verstappen, who is 49 points behind leader Oscar Piastri in the World Championship standings, doesn’t think he can fight with the McLarens for the win this weekend. “That’s not even in my head,” Verstappen said firmly.
“McLaren is fast everywhere. I’m focusing on other teams, including ones I know can be strong here. For example, Mercedes was very good here last year. If you compare it to then, they may be a bit more competitive again now. It will be difficult enough to fight for a podium.”
The Grand Prix weekend in Montreal starts on Friday at 7:30 PM (Dutch time) with the first free practice. The race is scheduled for Sunday at 8:00 PM.