British GP ban? Verstappen gives clear response to big penalty point question

After snagging three penalty points at the Spanish Grand Prix for contact with George Russell, Max Verstappen’s potential race ban has been the talk of the Formula 1 paddock — and he’s had enough.

Verstappen asked, “You’re joking?” after fielding yet another question about those penalty points during the pre-race press conference ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

Max Verstappen is done talking about penalty points

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Back in 2014, Formula 1 introduced the modern penalty points structure. In theory, the goal was to make F1 racing safer and more consistent by punishing drivers who were repeat offenders of similar rules violations from one weekend to the next.

In this format, drivers can earn one to five points for various infractions during a weekend, ranging from impeding another driver in qualifying to intentionally wrecking the competition to gain an advantage.

If a driver scores 12 penalty points within a 12-month period, that will trigger a one-race ban. After that point, their penalty points total will return to zero.

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After incurring three points for making contact with George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona, reigning champion Max Verstappen is currently sitting at 11 of his allowable 12 penalty points.

Two of those points will expire on June 30 — but that means Verstappen could still be banned from the British Grand Prix should he trigger one penalty point this weekend.

Even when those two points expire, Verstappen will remain three penalty points away from a ban until October, when his other points will begin to expire.

That has naturally been the topic of conversation for the past two weeks, but after being asked about whether or not the amount of penalty points he’s amassed will change his driving style ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen asked, “You’re joking? Is this like a trap, or…?”

He continued, “I’m getting this question every single time, every weekend. I have nothing to add.”

Verstappen’s reticence to comment on ongoing racing concerns is not new, but it also wasn’t the only example of his keeping his cards close to his chest during this specific press conference.

In response to a question about whether or not the drivers on stage felt that racing has become less natural and over-regulated as a result of changing rules of conduct, Verstappen was mum.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” he said. “I cannot risk to get another penalty point.”

And again, in response to a question about whether or not penalty points should only apply to dangerous moves as opposed to mistakes, Verstappen said, “I’m not gonna comment.”

The reigning champion may not have much to say, but his lack of comment speaks volumes.

However, the other drivers speaking alongside Verstappen came to his defense.

“Personally, I’m not a big fan of penalty points,” Pierre Gasly said.

“The level we have in Formula 1, we are professional in what we do. We obviously push things to the limits, but to have a race ban potentially…

“I was in that situation a couple of months earlier and I don’t think I was a dangerous driver on track.

“So for me there’s something that can be reviewed, other ways of applying some sort of penalties without getting a risk of having a driver missing a race.”