Formula 1 - Just before a race ban! Max Verstappen received his 11 Formula 1 penalty points

Max Verstappen is pushing himself to the limit. The Red Bull driver received three penalty points for his collision with George Russell in Barcelona . The Dutchman's Formula 1 super license now has eleven penalty points on it. A race ban is a real threat. If Verstappen collects another point by the end of June, he will automatically be banned from the next F1 race. How did it come to this? The Red Bull driver has racked up eleven penalty points in eleven months.

Penalty points that a driver receives remain for one year before they expire. Verstappen's oldest penalty points were collected at the 2024 Austrian GP. There he aggressively defended the lead against Lando Norris , who attempted to overtake several times. On lap 64, the McLaren driver tried to pass Verstappen on the outside at Turn 3. The Dutchman didn't make it easy for Norris, however, and forced him onto the kerb. The cars touched. Both drivers suffered a puncture. The Briton was forced to retire from the race, while Verstappen was able to continue. The stewards blamed the Red Bull driver. Despite the 10-second penalty, the Dutchman still finished fifth and extended his lead over Norris in the World Championship. Verstappen received two penalty points in addition to the time penalty for the collision.

The next offense for which Verstappen received penalty points involved Norris again. At the race in Mexico, the Red Bull driver first lost the lead to Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari and then had the Briton behind him. Norris again tried to overtake Verstappen on the outside, this time in Turn 4. Although there was no contact, the Dutchman pushed the McLaren driver off the track. Norris was forced to cut the corner and rejoined ahead of Sainz. To avoid a penalty, he gave position back to both the Spaniard and Verstappen. But that didn't end the jostling. A short time later, the Red Bull driver pushed Norris off the track again, crossing the white line with all four tires himself. Race control looked at both offenses and handed Verstappen two 10-second penalties. He received the two penalty points for the incident in Turn 4.

In Brazil, Verstappen was too quick on the accelerator. Towards the end of the sprint, the Dutchman, who was in third place at the time, attempted to overtake Oscar Piastri . He was apparently a bit overzealous, accelerating too early under the virtual safety car. Waiting for the green flag, Verstappen was 0.63 seconds under the set delta time when the race resumed. This gave him a significant advantage over Piastri. The stewards imposed a 5-second penalty, dropping Verstappen from third to fourth. He also received a penalty point for the virtual safety car violation.

In Qatar qualifying, Verstappen was the fastest and at the same time too slow. The Dutchman lost his pole position due to an incident with George Russell . Before his final push lap in Q3, the Red Bull driver wanted to build a gap to the cars in front of him. To do so, he slowed down but did not drive off the racing line. Russell, who was on a fast out lap, had to swerve. The stewards found Verstappen to be "unnecessarily slow." They demoted him one place on the grid and handed him a penalty point. This incident sparked the major feud between Verstappen and Russell, which escalated in the following races.

Verstappen received his next penalty points in Abu Dhabi in 2024. The Dutchman had already secured his fourth title, but wanted another chance at the season finale. He started the race in fourth place and attempted an opportunistic maneuver in Turn 1 to overtake Oscar Piastri, who was running second. Instead of overtaking, he touched the McLaren driver's right rear wheel. Both cars spun. Verstappen was then in 11th place. Piastri was relegated to the back of the field and complained about the "maneuver of a world champion." The stewards ruled that the Dutchman was entirely at fault for the incident. He received a 10-second penalty and two penalty points.

Verstappen, of course, picked up his last and so far only penalty points of the 2025 season in Barcelona. The scandalous collision with F1 rival George Russell has been the subject of heated debate ever since. When the Red Bull driver was instructed to let the Briton pass in the closing stages of the race, Verstappen initially complied, but then rammed Russell in the following corner. Some former drivers and experts even believe the Dutchman should have been disqualified for this incident. However, the stewards imposed a 10-second penalty, which dropped Verstappen to 10th place, and gave him three penalty points. This brings the Dutchman's total to a dangerous 11 points. Verstappen will therefore have to be careful in Canada and Austria. If he receives another penalty point, he will receive a race ban.

Blown fuse? Find out what F1 expert Christian Danner thinks about the Barcelona incident in this video: