The Dutch driver received three penalty points for the incident at Turn 5 in Barcelona, pushing his 12-month total to 11. If he reaches 12 penalty points, he receives an automatic race ban.
Here’s how the system works, why it exists, and how close Verstappen really is to missing a Grand Prix.
What is the F1 penalty points system?
Introduced in 2014, the FIA’s penalty points system is a way of tracking driver behaviour across the season.
Much like a driver’s licence in the real world, F1 drivers receive penalty points for serious or repeat offences, including for racing incidents or crashes as well as other incidents such as yellow-flag infringements.
The system is designed to deter repeat rule-breaking and encourage cleaner racing, with stewards deciding on the number of penalty points based on the incident.
How does the F1 penalty points system work?
Stewards have the option to impose between one to three penalty points per offence. If a driver collects 12 penalty points within a rolling 12-month period, they receive an automatic one-race ban. Points expire exactly one year after they were issued.
Since its introduction, only one driver has ever triggered a race ban through this system.
That happened last year, when Kevin Magnussen reached 12 points after receiving two for a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Italian Grand Prix. The penalty forced him to sit out the next round in Azerbaijan.
Other drivers who have come close to a ban include Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Logan Sargeant, and Gasly.
How has Verstappen reached 11 points?
Verstappen’s latest three-point penalty from Spain is the most severe on his record, and comes on top of the other eight he has received since the Austrian Grand Prix last year.
In that race, he received two points for causing a collision with Lando Norris. He was also handed two further two-point penalties at the Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, one for another incident with Norris and one for a collision with his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.
In addition, he picked up one-point penalties at both the Qatar and Brazilian Grands Prix for slow driving infractions.
His two penalty points from the Austrian Grand Prix will expire at the end of the month on June 30, dropping him down to nine ahead of the British Grand Prix at the beginning of July.
If he can avoid picking up a penalty point at the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix this month, he will avoid a race ban.
How many penalty points does every F1 driver on the grid have?
As of the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, 11 drivers currently have at least one penalty point:
11 – Max Verstappen
5 – Liam Lawson
4 – Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman and Oscar Piastri
3 – Lando Norris and Lance Stroll
2 – Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto
1 – George Russell
Kimi Antonelli, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar and Charles Leclerc all have zero penalty points to their name.
Until the calendar flips past June 30, every session carries risk, and for Verstappen, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
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