Racing Icon Predicts Fallout over Max Verstappen’s Potential F1 Race Ban

Former racing icon Juan Pablo Montoya asked the 'million dollar' question over Max Verstappen's potential race ban.

Racing Icon Predicts Fallout over Max Verstappen’s Potential F1 Race Ban

Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Max Verstappen is at risk of a race ban in Formula 1. The Dutch driver caused a collision at the Spanish GP last weekend when he tried to give the position back to George Russell. This sparked outrage, with the stewards handing him a penalty. Now, as the Red Bull star comes closer to potentially missing one race, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has imagined this potential scenario.

For the Spanish GP incident, Max Verstappen was given a ten-second time penalty that dropped him to tenth place. Moreover, the 27-year-old was given three penalty points, bringing his super license penalty points total to 11. This is just one short of a race ban. If the Dutch driver gets even a single penalty point next race, he will have to sit out of the Austrian GP.

Juan Pablo Montoya raised his concerns over this possibility, claiming that he was asking the ‘million dollar’ question. The Columbian could not fathom the fact that F1 could have a weekend without Verstappen.

Moreover, Montoya pointed out that the Austrian GP is a race filled in a sea of orange, with hundreds of thousands of Verstappen fans making their way to the Red Bull Ring. He further asserted that if the 27-year-old was banned from that race, F1 might not have fans turn up to the track at all. This would be detrimental to the sport as the race organizers will lose a lot of money.

I ask the million dollar question. If for some reason Max gets the 12th point, are they going to do a Grand Prix without Max? Really? If he does something in this (Canadian Grand Prix) and 90% of the audience [in Austria] is Dutch, are you going to tell me that they are going to sabotage the race and no one will show up?

Juan Pablo Montoya said on MontoyAS podcast

Max Verstappen ‘lost his head’ during Spanish GP

The Spanish GP was a nightmare for Max Verstappen. The race has ruined the Dutchman’s title prospects as the grid completes the first third of the season. A lot of things went wrong for Verstappen in Barcelona, which ultimately burst into his incident with George Russell.

George Russell and Max Verstappen
George Russell and Max Verstappen (image via Red Bull)

Juan Pablo Montoya admitted that Red Bull was right to ask Verstappen to give the position back to Russell. The 27-year-old had run off-track and would’ve likely received a time penalty had he not swapped positions with the Mercedes. Montoya reckoned that this would’ve been an easy way for the Dutchman to wash his hands off the problem. However, the Columbian highlighted that the Red Bull star lost his mind and everything turned into chaos.

But it’s so close, to the point where it could’ve been a penalty, it [might not have been] a penalty. There was a very big chance that they could have given him a penalty if he didn’t give back in position. So, to avoid a 5-second penalty, it was easier to let him pass, and pass him again, and that’s it. You know, it was like washing the hands of the problem. And Max lost his head.

Juan Pablo Montoya added

Certainly, Max Verstappen was extremely frustrated at the time of his incident with George Russell. The Dutchman now must learn from this race, and try to stay calmer in such situations. The next couple of races will be critical for Verstappen if he does not want to face a race ban soon. Fans would be hoping that the 27-year-old is able to bounce back stronger in the next race in Montreal.

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