Max Verstappen arrived for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal a single point away from a one-race suspension after his collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix on June 1.
The four-time reigning Formula 1 champion is adamant he will not change his driving style despite the warning hanging over him to be on his best behavior. His collision with the Mercedes driver earned him three penalty points.
“I will always race hard,” the 27-year-old Dutchman who drives for Red Bull said in Montreal, where he will be trying to win a fourth straight Canadian GP.
Verstappen has a total of 11 penalty points over a rolling 12-month period, which puts him one point shy of the one-race ban. He will be in the clear after the Austrian GP at the end of the month, when two penalty points will drop off. Until then, he races in danger of suspension.
Since the penalty system was introduced by the international open-wheel circuit in 2014, there has been only one suspension for reaching the 12-point limit: Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, who missed last year’s Azerbaijan GP.