Max Verstappen promised to “race like I always do” even though he is close to facing a one-race ban. If he makes even a small mistake at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix or the Austrian Grand Prix, the current world champion could miss the next race.
Verstappen received 11 penalty points after his controversial crash into George Russell’s Mercedes two weeks ago in Spain, leaving him just one point away from the maximum allowed in a year. Known for his bold racing style, the Dutch driver stated that he will keep that same attitude over the next two weeks.
“No, nothing changes. No [change in approach],” he said. “I can’t just back off from everything. I’m going to race as I always do; I believe in myself. Is it fair that I have 11 points? I don’t know. But life isn’t fair sometimes. I don’t let it bother me; I’m here to race, and I’ll always race hard.” He added, “I’m not here to try and get a ban.”
Stewards can give out penalty points for various reasons, including causing a crash or failing to slow down properly for a virtual safety car.
When asked if he believes it’s fair that he is close to getting banned, he replied, “I don’t really want to get into that. What does fair even mean? I don’t think about it. I just come here to race. I will always race hard and drive the way I think is right, then we move on to the next race.”
After the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen was initially unapologetic in his media interviews. However, he later posted on social media that the incident with Russell “was not right” and “shouldn’t have happened.”
The Dutch driver didn’t offer a public apology but acknowledged that it was a mistake in judgment on his part. “[The post was] my way of sharing how I saw things during the race.
It wasn’t ideal for me, but that was my statement, and then I went back to enjoying my day. It was clearly a misjudgment in that corner. But there’s no need to explain every detail of why it happened.
Everyone makes mistakes in life, learns from them, and we just keep going.” Verstappen currently sits in third place in the championship, 39 points behind Lando Norris from McLaren.
