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You’d think by now, F1 journalists would have learned not to continually keep asking Max about his penalty points situation. Repeatedly asked, Max has declined to answer questions on this topic and if it will change his approach. Yet, here we are again in Austria when the question surfaced AGAIN!  

Are they trying to piss off Max? Are they trying to lure him into commenting and teasing the last penalty point resulting in a race ban?  It must be said that it’s admirable how Max has exercised restraint and discipline in avoiding these questions that clearly upset him.

For those new to the sport, here is a little history on the F1 penalty points system, how Max got here and why it won’t change his approach to how he goes racing.

• Penalty points are added to a driver’s Super Licence when they commit on-track infractions—anything from causing collisions to unsafe pit releases. Each offence carries between 1–4 points depending on severity  .
• If a driver accumulates 12 points within a rolling 12-month period, their licence is suspended and they must miss one Grand Prix.
• Points expire exactly 12 months after they’re applied. If drivers stay below 12, their slate can be wiped clean when individual infraction points expire.

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F1 bad boys:

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• As of now, the only recent compulsory race ban came when Kevin Magnussen hit 12 points and missed the 2024 Azerbaijan GP. Earlier, Romain Grosjean faced a race suspension in 2012 after a major first-lap accident at Spa . Other drivers including Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen (then rookie), Felipe Massa, and Esteban Ocon who had received multiple points, though not enough to trigger bans.

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So how did Max get to within a point of a race ban?

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He has 11 points total, just one point away from a mandatory one-race ban. Notable recent infractions include; 3 points for a collision with George Russell at the Spanish GP on June 1, 2025which won’t expire until June 1 2026, 2 points from Austria 2024 – expire June 30 2025, 2 points from Mexico 2024 – expire October 27 2025, 1 point for VSC breach in Brazil 2024 – expire November 1 2025, 1 point for slow cooldown in Qatar 2024 – expire December 1 2025, 2 points from Abu Dhabi 2024 – expiring December 8 2025

Fortunately for Max, the 2 Austrian points will drop off on June 30, 2025, just after the Austrian GP this weekend. Bringing Verstappen down to 9 points—safely clear of a ban.

Points Shmoints…Max won’t change!

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Normally and likely for some  drivers, the fear of a race ban might curb on-track behaviour. But not Verstappen. The only impact it appears to have made is strengthening Max’s resolve to steer well clear of responding to press conference questions on the subject.

Despite being so close to a ban, Verstappen has made it clear he’ll not mellow his on-track aggression: He acknowledged the mistake in Spain yet emphasized: “mistakes are part of racing” and refused to dial back his approach. Max remains convinced that bold, aggressive driving is integral to his success and championship mindset.

And let’s be honest, as much as we love this sport, we need racer’s like Max. F1 can be processional at times and uncompetitive when you have dominant teams/drivers. Max adds spice, uncertainty and drama. You just know that if he’s in the mix, anything can happen. And that’s good!  Let’s just stop trying to piss him off.

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