Why Didn’t Max Verstappen Get A Race Ban? Spanish Grand Prix Incidents Explained

Reigning Drivers World Champion Max Verstappen has avoided a race ban after colliding with George Russell and Charles Leclerc at the Spanish Grand Prix, but will need to be careful during the next few races.

A frustrated Max Verstappen seemed to let his emotions get the better of him at the weekend.

The Red Bull driver was caught out when a late safety car allowed others to pit for fresh tyres. But with just one set of the unfavored hard compound tyres remaining, Verstappen was a sitting duck as the race resumed.

Struggling for grip, he lost the rear of the car exiting the final corner, and the time lost regaining control saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc capitalise and overtake, with the two colliding on the straight.

Then, a turn five incident, which saw him swerve suddenly into Mercedes’ George Russell, resulted in Verstappen being handed a ten-second penalty and three penalty points on his racing license.

Former F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg was stunned by Verstappen’s actions.

While speaking on commentary for Sky F1, Rosberg said: “Wow that is bad bad bad! That is seriously bad. He just rams him full on! You need to black flag [disqualify Verstappen]!”

But why didn’t Max Verstappen get a race ban?

Why Didn’t Max Verstappen Get A Race Ban?

While the ten-second penalty for Verstappen was far from ideal, things could have been much worse for the Dutchman.

Following the race, he had to report to the stewards to explain the earlier incident with Leclerc.

Luckily for him, both Verstappen and Leclerc avoided a penalty, with officials deeming it a ‘racing incident’.

The two drivers agreed the collision was avoidable and that neither one was more to blame than the other.

But the incident with Russell was not viewed in the same way.

Russell overcooked an overtake attempt on Verstappen, forcing him to take to the escape road.

Verstappen reed ahead, but with the fault lying with Russell, the stewards judged the Dutchman did not need to give the position back.

But Red Bull chose not to take the risk, instructing Verstappen to let Russell past. In doing so, Verstappen swerved into Russell and caused a collision, earning himself a ten-second penalty.

This dropped him from fourth place to tenth, and meant Verstappen was handed three penalty points on his license.

But thanks to him avoiding any further points for the Leclerc incident, he has narrowly escaped a ban, for now.

Verstappen Just One Penalty Point Away From Race Ban

Although not banned for the Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen needs to be careful.

He now has 11 penalty points, with 12 needed to incur a one-race ban.

For the next two Grand Prix, Verstappen cannot afford to pick up a single penalty point.

Former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was the most recent driver to serve a race ban, sitting out the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Points on a Formula 1 driver’s racing license remain for one year. This means that after the Austrian Grand Prix, some of Verstappen’s penalty points will expire, giving him a bit more leeway.

Max Verstappen Penalty Points After Spanish Grand Prix

With Verstappen now just one penalty point away from a race ban, here’s how he got to this point.

• Austrian Grand Prix 2024 – Collision with Lando Norris – 2 points
• Mexican Grand Prix 2024 – Forcing Norris off Track – 2 Points
• Brazilian Grand Prix 2024 – VSC Infringement – 1 point
• Qatar Grand Prix 2024 – Impeding George Russell in Qualifying – 1 point
• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024 – Collision with Oscar Piastri – 2 points
• Spanish Grand Prix 2025 – Collision with George Russell – 3 points

Total: 11 points – 12 needed for a race ban.

Fans And Drivers React As George Russell Vs Max Verstappen Rivalry Resurfaces

After the race, both Russell and Verstappen had strong opinions on the incident.

Russell said: “That’s how Max goes racing. He was in P4, I was in P5, I ended up P4, he ended up P10.

“So from my side, glad that I managed to finish the race. Not really sure what he was thinking because he cost himself and his team a lot of points.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, was more closed off in his response, likely due to the Formula 1 driver swearing ban penalties introduced last season.

He said: “Yeah I had a big moment there in the last corner [with Leclerc]. Unfortunately the hard tyres had very low grip, so that was quite painful.

“Because of those hard tyres you get into those situations.

“I don’t need to say anything about it [the Russell collision] because it doesn’t matter anyway.”

But many fans were less than impressed with Verstappen’s driving.

No way Verstappen fans can try and defend this surely?

— Joseph 🐎 🔨 (@LH44Joseph) June 1, 2025

Another on X (formerly Twitter), suggested that Verstappen’s actions – and their lenient punishments – are setting a poor example to young drivers coming through the ranks.

They said: “Verstappen only getting 10s for moves like that is the prime reason why he races the way he does.

“They keep letting things this go unpunished and then wonder why drivers in junior categories have a similar mentality while racing.

“You are letting him set the example.”

Formula 1 returns in two weeks for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend starting on Friday, 13 June at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.