Max Verstappen, penalty points issue: he’s at 7, but before Las Vegas there is a jolly. Max Verstappen brings his total to 7 F1 penalty points over the last 12 months.

Infraction and Sanction

Max Verstappen’s penalty during the Brazilian Sprint race—five seconds added to his final time for failing to respect the delta time during the Virtual Safety Car—significantly impacted not only the outcome of Saturday’s race for the Dutch driver at the 4.309-kilometre Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Brazil.

In addition to dropping from third to fourth place, thereby losing a point in the standings, Max Verstappen also had to accept a penalty point on his Super License. This brings his total to 7 points over the last 12 months. This number is concerning because reaching 12 points results in a race ban.

Before Las Vegas, Points from 2023 Can Be Discarded

The Red Bull superstar, who is coming off a twenty-second penalty and two points lost on his license in Mexico due to improper maneuvers during his battle with Lando Norris, does have an important joker to play. Two of these seven points are from the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix and will expire on November 18.

This is significant because it means that if Max Verstappen does not incur any further penalties this weekend, he will race in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled for November 23, with ‘only’ five penalty points. This would increase the margin for receiving additional penalties without risking a race ban. This could also become a topic to monitor closely in this tightly contested championship finale.