Max Verstappen ‘disappointingly’ tops the list for most F1 ‘penalty points’ list ahead of Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Max Verstappen ‘disappointingly’ tops the list for most F1 ‘penalty points’ list ahead of Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen topped the points table last year and became the 2021 F1 world champion. But that victory for the driver has come at an expense. The Dutch driver accumulated seven penalty points last season, out of which five came in the Qatar GP and the Saudi Arabian GP. 

Now, the driver stands second on the list of drivers with the maximum penalty points, trailing behind only AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, both with eight points each. However, Max Verstappen would be joining the duo soon in April, as both Yuki and Stroll’s one point will expire, bringing their total to seven as well. Whereas, two of Max’s points will expire in September.

This is one of the feats that Max wouldn’t have aimed for. Twelve points on the license, and he would be disallowed from participating in a single race. With most of his points expiring in November and December, i.e., the end of the season, the reigning champion will have to be careful in the upcoming rounds. Max would have to avoid a suspension to have hopes of defending his title, which has already suffered a massive setback in the opening stages.

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When did Max Verstappen gather penalty points?

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton's crash at the Saudi Arabian GP 2021
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s crash at the Saudi Arabian GP 2021

Five of the seven penalty points on Max’s license were collected during the two of the final three races of the 2021 season. To get rid of the five points, he’ll have to wait for a long time.

At the Qatar GP, Max Verstappen was penalized two points for ignoring double yellow flags during the qualifying. In the next race in Saudi Arabia, he accumulated three points in total. Single point for going off track and taking advantage after the restart and another two points for causing his collision with Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen’s main rival in 2022, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, has zero points, which can be a bit worrying for the former as the chances of his suspension are far higher than that of Leclerc’s. The other rival, Lewis Hamilton, is on just two points that’ll expire in July 2022.

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