Max Verstappen has received three penalty points on his super license following the Spanish Grand Prix due to a collision with George Russell in turn 5. He had previously received a ten-second time penalty for the incident, which dropped him from fifth to tenth place. With the three new penalty points, his total now stands at eleven, just one point away from an automatic one-race suspension.
The clash between Verstappen and Russell occurred shortly after the race restart, with Verstappen already having been overtaken by Charles Leclerc. Not long after, Russell made a move on Verstappen, who initially managed to maintain his position. Red Bull then instructed Verstappen to give the position back to the Mercedes driver. During the moment he wanted to let Russell pass, the two came into contact.
The penalty points put Verstappen in a critical position. An automatic one-race suspension follows twelve penalty points within a period of twelve months. With several more races to go before earlier penalty points expire, Verstappen will need to be cautious to avoid further sanctions.
The race in Spain was won by Oscar Piastri, who, along with teammate Lando Norris, achieved a dominant one-two finish for McLaren. Charles Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari.
