Max Verstappen is just a single penalty point away from a race ban, meaning Red Bull has to consider its contingencies.

Verstappen being given three penalty points for his collision with George Russell in Spain means the four-time F1 World Champion is just one small transgression away from a race ban if he fails to have completely clean weekends in Canada and Austria.

What does Red Bull do if Max Verstappen is banned?

Verstappen is now on 11 penalty points over the past 12 months, with the Dutch driver needing to get to June 30th – the day after the Austrian Grand Prix – to shed two points from his FIA Super Licence and give himself a small bit of breathing room.

Just a single penalty point during the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix weekends will move Verstappen onto 12 points and trigger an automatic race ban for the following round. If this happens, he will become only the second driver to receive a race ban since the introduction of the penalty points system, following on from Kevin Magnussen’s race ban in Azerbaijan last season.

It’s not a palatable situation, especially given how Verstappen’s championship challenge would all but be relinquished in such a scenario, and how the Dutch driver’s absence would likely impact fan interest in any event he wouldn’t be on the grid for – fans who have shelled out for tickets to see Verstappen race may feel particularly short-changed.

But, given that no driver is above the rules, the prospect of Verstappen being given a race ban is a very realistic one, and raises the question of just what Red Bull would do in such a scenario.

Needing a driver to race alongside Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing, the lead contenders are the two Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.

Lawson has experience of Red Bull Racing from earlier this year, having initially been put into the race seat alongside Verstappen at the start of this season. However, Lawson struggled for performance and, after two races, was shuffled back to Racing Bulls.

Isack Hadjar, as a complete rookie this season, has impressed the F1 world with multiple top 10 finishes and a steely confidence having recovered from a disappointing error in his debut weekend as he crashed on the formation lap.

Both are understood, at this point, to have an equal opportunity of getting a call-up to the senior team, if the situation does arise in which a driver is needed – a theoretical PlanetF1.com understands is not one Red Bull is overly concerned by.

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Lawson’s prior knowledge of the RB21 and the Red Bull team, in theory, gives him a slight edge over Hadjar, although the impressive performances from Hadjar could mean Red Bull plump to give him a chance in the spotlight.

Whichever one is selected in this scenario would thus leave a seat free at Racing Bulls, which would also need filling.

Formula 2 frontrunner Arvid Lindblad may be on the verge of an FIA Super Licence as the governing body mulls over an exemption request put in by Red Bull, due to Lindblad not yet being 18 –  a decision which, due to fortunate timing, will be made prior to the Canadian Grand Prix.

It’s understood the Swedish-British driver is not under consideration for any of the four Red Bull-controlled cockpits at this point in time, with no desire to fast-track him into a pressure-filled debut appearance.

The leading contender to slot into a vacant Racing Bulls is thus likely to be 23-year-old Japanese racer Ayumu Iwasa, the Honda-backed Red Bull junior driver.

Iwasa has been part of Red Bull’s driver programme since 2021 and, last season, drove for Racing Bulls in place of Daniel Ricciardo in FP1 at Suzuka, putting in a solid showing in 16th place. He then took over Tsunoda’s seat in the other Racing Bulls car for FP1 in Abu Dhabi.

This year, Iwasa has driven the Red Bull RB21 in free practice in Bahrain, taking over Verstappen’s car as the Milton Keynes-based squad ticked off the first of their required four rookie practice outings.

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