Verstappen closer to race ban due to incident with Hamilton

Max Verstappen has received two penalty points for his collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Brazilian Grand Prix. This now puts the two-time world champion on seven penalty points in total. Twelve penalty points will result in disqualification. Still, the Dutchman need not worry too much.

The two penalties Verstappen received last race are the first penalties he has taken this year. That has been different in the past. Especially during the heated 2021 season in which Verstappen was constantly competing against Hamilton, the Dutchman received so many penalty points that a one-race disqualification was pretty much on the cards.

This year, Verstappen does not have to worry about that as much. With seven penalty points, he still has a nice buffer. It is highly unusual for a driver to take more than three penalty points in one race, so this season Verstappen is very unlikely to run into that limit.

Many points expire quickly

The main reason Verstappen need not worry is because penalty points expire soon. They remain valid for a total of one year. In Verstappen's case, this means he will lose two points on 22 November and three more on 5 December. Should he not incur any new penalty points in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen will thus start next season with just the two penalty points from last weekend.

The penalty point system has been quite criticised this year, especially by Pierre Gasly. The AlphaTauri driver now stands at 10 penalty points for offences that he believes were relatively minor. Unlike Verstappen, Gasly has to wait a little longer before his points expire, so he will have to drive extra carefully in the final race of this season.