Verstappen was furious in the mixed zone at Montmeló at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix. He was particularly harsh when Sky Sports handed him the microphone. Nico Rosberg, a commentator for the British channel, had suggested that his maneuver against Russell deserved a black flag.
Verstappen’s maneuver against Russell could have further consequences: he has only one point left on his super license!
After being overtaken by Leclerc and then by the Mercedes driver, the Red Bull driver let the second-place car pass on team orders and then collided with the Englishman. The stewards decided to impose a 10-second penalty for the maneuver. “That’s their opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own,” replied the Dutchman.
When pressed on whether it was deliberate, the champion was blunt: “Does it matter? I’d rather talk about the race than a specific moment.” Once again asked about the disqualification, he settled the matter once and for all: “I think it was a miscalculation,” he said.
In addition to the 10-second penalty imposed on the Red Bull driver, the stewards also handed Verstappen three super license points, bringing his total to 11 out of the 12 allowed under F1 rules.
Verstappen is on the verge of suspension for one race
In other words, Verstappen is on the verge of a one-race suspension. For his aspirations to win his fifth world title, receiving a one-point penalty is absolutely devastating. In addition to McLaren’s superiority, in the hypothetical race in which he would be suspended, the Dutchman would be giving away almost free points to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
These points are recovered within a calendar year, but even that is not good news for the reigning world champion. In other words, Max Verstappen cannot afford any more controversial actions in Canada or Austria, the next two races on the Formula 1 calendar.
Magnussen, Mansell, Hakkinen, and Schumacher have all missed a GP
In any case, if the Dutchman were forced to miss a Grand Prix, he would not be the only one to do so in recent years. The last to do so was Kevin Magnussen in 2024. The Dane was then the first driver to be penalized for losing all his points, not for a specific incident, but for the sum of several. The former Haas driver opened a list that has come close to being inaugurated on other occasions, but the protagonists managed to avoid it.
In total, up to this Spanish Grand Prix, there have been 10 precedents, but among those ‘suspended’ are no less than seven GP winners and four world champions! Verstappen could be added to that list. It is true that in some cases it was before their first victory or before becoming world champions.
As such, the list includes four world champions: Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve. Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Riccardo Patrese, and Eddie Irvine are the other three suspended GP winners who were not world champions. The remaining three are Christian Danner, Yuji Ide, and Romain Grosjean.
A curious case occurred in 1994, when Irvine, Hakkinen, and Schumacher were suspended for a total of six Grand Prix races. Three for Eddie, two for the German, and one for Hakkinen. That did not prevent Schumacher from becoming champion, nor did it prevent Villeneuve from becoming champion in 1997.
Why can F1 drivers be penalized?
There are several reasons why a Formula 1 driver may be penalized, as may happen to Verstappen. It may be for a serious breach of the regulations or for an accident, and for many years a ban on competing was also imposed as a ‘warning’ to force the most aggressive drivers to change their attitude. Article 54.3.i) of the FIA Sporting Regulations in 2024 gave the stewards the power to suspend a driver directly for the next Grand Prix.
Since 2014, Formula 1 has had a point penalty system in which drivers receive points on their super license, similar to a driver’s license, if they commit a rule violation. Thus, if a driver accumulates 12 penalty points in twelve months, they are automatically suspended for the next race. Kevin Magnussen was the first driver to be penalized for this reason under the new regulations, and the most recent since 2012.