Verpappen under fire: Does the F1 star threaten the racing lock?

Verpappen under fire: Does the F1 star threaten the racing lock?

Barcelona, Spanien - Max Verstappen, the currently incumbent world champion of Formula 1, was sharp criticism after a turbulent race in Barcelona. The incident that brought him into the headlines was described as "impregnant", while some observers compared him to an "angry taxi driver". Verstappen was not put off by these statements and made it clear that George Russell should not be like this after the Situation escalated. In a social media contribution, the Red Bull Pilot admitted its "frustration", which led to his controversial maneuver, which he himself classified as incorrect.

As part of the race, Verstappen received a ten-second penalty that threw him back to tenth place. This punishment was the result of a collision with Russell when Verstappen tried to drive Russell aside. However, the Formula 1 stewards decided that Verstappen did not have to return his position and spoke him free of the allegations of an illegal abbreviation maneuver. Nevertheless, there were further unpleasant consequences: Verstappen received additional three penalty points on his FIA license, which increased its total number to eleven points. It is only one point away from a possible racing lock, should he reach the twelve points that would result in an automatic lock. As the FIA defines, these points fall after twelve months; Two points will fall on June 30th.

team and future

Christian Horner, team boss of Red Bull, appealed to Verstappen, to stay purely in the coming races. The next stations are Canada, where it will be driven on June 15, and Austria, which is on the program on June 29. However, Verstappen and the team have by no means managed to get all the problems out of the world: This season, the world champion has difficulty keeping up with McLaren, which is increasing the concerns of the Red Bull motor sports consultant Helmut Marko. The former world champion Nico Rosberg also critically commented on the behavior and even called for a drastic measure in the form of a black flag.

The discussion about Verstappen has also continued on social media. George Russell did not leave good hair on Verstappen and criticized his behavior, which Verstappen answered with a sarcastic comment. According to Horner, it was a "50-50 decision" to have Russell drove past in order to escape possible further mischief. Verstappen, even in the shock of this instruction, criticized the unclear rules in the current rules of Formula 1.

penalties in the rules

An overview of the current regulations shows that Verstappen is not solely with his situation. Penalties are an integral part of the Formula 1 regulation, which has remained unchanged in 2025. Drivers can receive between one and three penalty points for sporting violations, and the regulation measures can be taken based on the racing director's report. A particularly remarkable case was in 2024 when Kevin Magnussen was the first driver to suspend a race due to twelve penalty points.

Currently the penalty points for Verstappen show that he has 18 points - the highest number among the drivers. The following table provides an overview of the current penalties and distribution of points in Formula 1:

The current developments around Max Verstappen and his teammates remain exciting, especially with the upcoming races in Canada and Austria.