George Russell backs potential Max Verstappen race ban as Red Bull star teeters on penalty points suspension
George Russell has claimed that a race ban for Max Verstappen “wouldn’t be unjust”, if he does end up accumulating 12 penalty points. The Dutchman received three points after his incident with Russell at Barcelona. This has taken his total penalty points tally up to 11.
The FIA mandate that a driver receiving 12 penalty points over a 12 month period would result in a race ban. Max Verstappen currently sits on 11. The earliest two of his points expire is after the Austrian GP in June 29. So naturally, many fans and experts have raised the questions of a potential race ban.
George Russell, who was on the wrong end of Verstappen’s rage in Catalonia, claims that a race ban wouldn’t be unjust. Speaking to the media ahead of the Canadian GP, Russell expressed that penalties must be applied if a driver breaks the rules.
“If he gets to 12 points it [a ban] wouldn’t be unjust. At the end of the day, that’s why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points, and get punished with a race ban,” said Russell. [via Sky Sports]
“I’m not looking for an apology. His actions cost him and they benefited me, so I should be almost thanking him. Obviously I’d be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race. But it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that.” he added.
Kevin Magnussen remains the only driver to be banned for a race for accumulating 12 penalty points. The Dane missed the 2024 Azerbaijan GP as a result.
Russell finished the Spanish GP in fourth, while Verstappen ended up tenth. This was after he received a 10 second time penalty for causing a collision. The 27-year-old has since expressed regret for his actions, putting it down to frustration, via an Instagram post.
Verstappen (3rd) sits 26 points in front of Russell (4th) in the 2025 drivers’ standings ahead of the Canadian GP.
George Russell thinks Max Verstappen was trying to “scare” him in Barcelona
George Russell has claimed that Max Verstappen was not trying to crash into him during the Spanish GP. Rather, he feels the that Dutchman was trying to get his elbows out, as a way to “scare” him.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Canadian GP on Thursday [June 12], Russell shared his analysis of the bizarre moment when Verstappen slowed down and crashed into the side of him in Barcelona.
“He was trying to run me off the road. I don’t think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. Again, it wasn’t going to scare me, it was just all a bit surprising.” said Russell.
Now the attention turns to Canada. Red Bull and Mercedes have been fighting for similar positions on the grid in 2025. This could mean that Verstappen and Russell could yet again be fighting for positions in Montreal.
