After the incident with George Russell in Spain, Verstappen was handed a time penalty along with three penalty points by the FIA stewards. This brings his total to eleven penalty points within a twelve-month period — just one point away from triggering an automatic race ban upon reaching twelve.

As long as the twelve-month period hasn’t expired, the threat of suspension remains. In Verstappen’s case, two penalty points won’t be removed from his super licence until after the Austrian Grand Prix. This makes the Red Bull Ring weekend in Spielberg critical: if he picks up one or more penalty points for an infraction, he will have to sit out the next race.

Since the Spielberg weekend would already be underway, this means Verstappen would miss the following event — the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Even if Verstappen manages to get through Red Bull’s home weekend in Spielberg unscathed, he will still need to keep a close eye on his penalty points in the coming months.

After two points expire on June 30, his total will drop to nine — a figure that will remain until October 27. Following that, another two points will expire, with four more set to lapse in November and December.

The three crucial points he received after the collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix won’t expire until June 1, 2026, meaning they will stay on his record for a long time.