Verstappen must 'survive' 11 Grands Prix to avoid suspension in 2025
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- Corwin Kunst
Max Verstappen has accumulated quite a few extra penalty points in Formula 1 in a short space of time. The Red Bull Racing driver now stands at eight, with 12 in 12 months meaning he will have to sit out of a Grand Prix through suspension. Helmut Marko also sees that the four-time world champion should not be allowed to go wrong too often again.
For the incident with Oscar Piastri on the opening lap in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen received two penalty points from the stewards. Causing a crash often results in two penalty points, but Marko does believe the inconsistency of the stewards overall contributes to Verstappen's high number.
"He is on eight now, so we have to be careful," Marko told Sky Sports' German branch, then going on to talk about the lack of consistency. "But that is a problem everyone has, and it has been raised several times. More consistency would be better and it would also improve the sport."
Kevin Magnussen missed this year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix because he had received too many penalty points on his racing licence in 12 months. Oliver Bearman then drove through the streets of Baku in place of the Dane.
Only on 30 June 2025, Verstappen will lose two of his current penalty points. By then, 11 Grands Prix will have already taken place. Indeed, the season starts early in Australia on 16 March 2025, with next year's Austrian Grand Prix occurring on 29 June 2025.
When do Verstappen's penalty points expire?
- 2 points on 30 June 2025 (picked up in Austrian GP after collision with Norris)
- 2 points on 27 October 2025 (picked up in Mexican GP after battle with Norris)
- 1 point on 1 November (picked up in Brazilian sprint race after exceeding VSC delta)
- 1 point on 1 December (picked up in qualifying Qatar after unnecessarily slow driving)
- 2 points on 8 December (picked up in GP Abu Dhabi after collision with Piastri)
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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