F1 penalty points: Verstappen avoids trouble in Canada, Stroll punished for forcing Gasly wide. Max Verstappen avoided penalty points in Canada but remains one point away from a race ban.

Max safe, for now
Rarely has the topic of penalty points and drivers’ disciplinary records been as prominent as it was at this Canadian GP. Unsurprisingly, the focus was on car #1: Max Verstappen. The Dutch champion was—and still is—just one penalty point away from a one-race suspension. On the Montreal circuit, the Red Bull driver was careful and managed to stay out of trouble, but he will need to exercise the same caution in Austria in two weeks’ time.

The first penalty due to expire for Max is the one he received at the Red Bull Ring a year ago, for the incident with Lando Norris. However, those penalty points will only be removed from his license on June 30, while the GP will take place on June 29. So, if Verstappen were to receive another penalty in Austria, he would still reach 12 points and would have to serve a one-race ban.

Penalty points for Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll
In Canada, Max Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda was among those penalized by the stewards, losing two points on his license for overtaking under red flag conditions during FP3—an infraction that also earned him a grid penalty. Rounding out the weekend’s disciplinary news, Lance Stroll also lost two points—forcing Pierre Gasly off the track during the race—bringing his total to five penalty points. For the Canadian Aston Martin driver, this was his third points deduction in the last 12 months and the second of the season. No penalty points, however, were issued to Lando Norris, who was only handed a five-second time penalty for causing the incident with his teammate Oscar Piastri.