Max Verstappen ended his fourth consecutive title-winning season on a bit of a downer, after enduring a chaotic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
After crashing into the side of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on lap one, he found himself behind Charles Leclerc, who started down in 19th.
To add insult to injury, he was then handed a 10-second time penalty for his part in the incident, which he duly served at his first stop.
By the end of the race, Verstappen made his way back up to sixth place – but he could have been somewhere near the podium and not behind the two Mercedes drivers.
Helmut Marko warns Max Verstappen to ‘be careful’ over penalty points
Formula 1 drivers are only permitted to accumulate 12 penalty points over 12 months before they receive a race ban.
They can gather those courtesy of most incidents, whether that’s impeding, crashing, or tracking limits—there are a few ways that they can mount.
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After being handed two more for his Piastri clash, Verstappen now sits on eight, and it’s something that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has warned him of after the race to Sky Sport DE.
“That wasn’t very diplomatic. He got two points again and is now on eight. We have to be careful. Certain stewards give more severe punishments, but that’s a problem that everyone has and it was mentioned that more consistency would be better.
“It’s the emotions and at that moment you don’t think very diplomatically. Maybe you shouldn’t broadcast everything. In football, not everyone has a microphone hanging around their neck. I don’t want to know what kind of comments are being made.”
When does Verstappen start to shed some penalty points?
Verstappen’s penalty points situation is a bit of a worry now, especially if Red Bull fail to make a dominant car and force him to fight more than ever for his success.
Judging by the calendar, there will be 11 races before any of the Dutchman’s penalty points come off – and another four months after that until October before the other six are gone.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri shares what Max Verstappen did immediately after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix clash
In other words, three incidents costing him two or more penalty points over his next 20 races would see him banned for at least one race.
It’s a real possibility, as everyone was reminded this year when Haas driver Kevin Magnussen managed to receive a ban for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
It would be a severe dent to his aspirations of a fifth consecutive world championship – a feat which already looks like it will be difficult enough to achieve.
