Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from incurring a Formula 1 race ban ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, following his collision with George Russell in Barcelona
Max Verstappen said it would “not be the end of the world” if he were banned from taking part in a Formula 1 race. That’s despite his title defence already looking difficult with the Red Bull racer 49 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen has 11 penalty points on his racing licence, having been given three last time out at the Spanish Grand Prix. That, alongside a 10-second time penalty, was his punishment for driving into George Russell towards the end of the Barcelona race.
It means he is one more penalty point away from becoming only the second F1 driver to be banned under the current system, after Kevin Magnussen last year. Not that he appears to be too concerned about the prospect of being forced to sit out a race.
Asked if he felt being so close to a ban in might change the way he and others will battle on track at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen said: “It’s there, right? There’s nothing that you can do about it.
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“So we just focus ahead and try to do the best that we can every single time. It’s not changing my approach – I cannot speak for others. If you look at it in general, missing a race is not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world.”
Russell said in the aftermath of that Barcelona incident that he felt Verstappen had deliberately driven into his Mercedes. Speaking in Montreal, the Brit said he had changed his view on that, but showed little sympathy for his Red Bull rival’s predicament.
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He said: “If [Verstappen] gets to 12 points, [a ban] wouldn’t be unjust. At the end of the day, that’s why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points, and get punished with a race ban. You’ve got it in your own hands and it doesn’t go without risk.
“He was trying to run me off the road. I don’t think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. Again, it wasn’t going to scare me, it was just all a bit surprising.”
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Verstappen issued a statement the morning after the Barcelona race in which he admitted he was wrong to have collided with Russell. That social media post did not include an apology, though Russell says he is not after one and was simply surprised to see Verstappen shoulder the blame.
“I’m not looking for an apology. His actions cost him and they benefited me, so I should be almost thanking him. Obviously, I’d be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race. But it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that.”