Following a collision with George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, Max Verstappen was deemed at fault by the race stewards and is now just one penalty point shy of receiving a race ban.
The incident resulted in Verstappen receiving a 10-second time penalty in the race, which dropped him to 10th place. He was also issued three penalty points on his Super Licence.
The four-time world champion currently holds 11 penalty points. Formula 1 regulations stipulate that accumulating 12 points within a 12-month timeframe leads to an automatic one-race suspension.
Two of these points are set to expire on June 30. To avoid reaching the threshold before then, Verstappen needs to steer clear of any further penalties during the upcoming races in Canada and Austria, which would give him more buffer for the remainder of the season.
Another two points will lapse on October 27. Consequently, even if he incurs no penalties before June 30, Verstappen will remain within three points of a ban until after the Mexican Grand Prix. The collision with Russell occurred shortly after Verstappen`s hopes of a podium were diminished by a late safety car period in Spain.
The Red Bull driver was running in third place when the safety car was deployed. Having already utilized his allocation of soft and medium tyres during a three-stop strategy, his only available option when pitting under the safety car was a set of hard tyres.
Both Charles Leclerc and Russell, who were running behind him, opted for soft tyres during the safety car period, giving them a tyre advantage when the race restarted.
Leclerc quickly overtook Verstappen soon after the restart line. Russell then attempted a pass into Turn 1, resulting in the Mercedes driver sliding and making contact with Verstappen, forcing the Red Bull car wide.
Race stewards initiated an investigation into this incident. Red Bull initially worried Verstappen might be penalized for leaving the track and potentially gaining an advantage.
Verstappen`s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, instructed the reigning champion via radio to return the position to Russell to prevent a possible penalty, a directive that clearly frustrated Verstappen.
Approaching Turn 5 on the next lap, Verstappen seemed to be allowing Russell to repass but then accelerated suddenly before the corner apex, leading to a collision with the Mercedes car.
The stewards ultimately determined Verstappen was solely responsible for this collision and imposed the 10-second time penalty and the three penalty points.
Stewards` Decision Details
In their statement regarding the Turn 5 incident, the stewards noted that radio traffic showed Verstappen`s team instructed him to give the position back based on their belief of a previous rule breach (which the stewards later decided was not the case). They observed that Verstappen clearly expressed dissatisfaction with this instruction.
The stewards described how Verstappen slowed significantly approaching Turn 5, seemingly allowing Russell to pass, but then accelerated suddenly before the corner entry, causing the collision. They concluded, “The collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of Car 1,” leading to the imposition of the 10-second penalty.
A separate statement addressed the initial incident at Turn 1. The stewards clarified that they would not have taken action on this first contact, meaning Verstappen was not actually required to return the position. They stated that Russell (Car 63) attempted an inside pass, but lost control at the apex, colliding with Verstappen (Car 1) and forcing him off track. They concluded that Verstappen was forced off the track due to Russell`s loss of control and contact, and therefore did not deliberately leave the track, justifying their decision not to penalize the initial event.
Kevin Magnussen of Haas was the most recent driver to receive a race ban for accumulating 12 penalty points, resulting in him missing last year`s Azerbaijan Grand Prix after reaching the limit at Monza.
Minor infractions can result in single penalty points, including driving too slowly on a qualifying cooldown lap, failing to stay within ten car lengths of the safety car, or speeding during a virtual safety car period.
Verstappen`s finish in 10th place in Spain impacted his championship standings, leaving him 49 points behind current leader Oscar Piastri.
While Verstappen avoided commenting directly on the incident post-race, George Russell suggested the Dutchman`s actions set a poor example for younger drivers.
Rupert Caldwell 
Tristan Blackwood