Major Max Verstappen race ban update as two drivers avoid FIA sanction
Max Verstappen has had a few skirmishes with the FIA over the course of his F1 career
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Haas driver Oliver Bearman are breathing a huge sigh of relief after their FIA penalty points tallies decreased ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Bearman have both skirted dangerously close to a race ban during the F1 2025 season with the pair topping the Formula 1 disciplinary charts over the course of this year.
Max Verstappen safe from F1 race ban threat as more FIA penalty points wiped
Under F1’s rules, drivers face an automatic one-race ban if they accumulate 12 penalty points on their superlicence within a 12-month window.
Kevin Magnussen, Bearman’s predecessor at Haas, became the first driver to be banned under the system – originally introduced in 2014 – last season.
Verstappen, the reigning four-time world champion, found himself just one point away from triggering an automatic one-race ban following his clash with Mercedes driver George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
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Verstappen’s three penalty points for that incident put him on 11 in total at that stage, forcing him to drive with caution at the following rounds in Canada and Austria.
The two he collected for causing a collision with McLaren driver Lando Norris at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix were wiped from his record at the end of June having fallen out of the 12-month window.
Verstappen received a further boost in the aftermath of the last race in Mexico, which marked a year since he picked up two penalty points for forcing Norris off track at the same event in 2024.
Today (November 3) marks one year since Verstappen claimed arguably the greatest victory of his career at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, dominating in wet conditions despite starting from 17th position.
That triumph came 24 hours after Verstappen was handed one penalty point for a virtual safety car infringement in the sprint race at Interlagos.
That incident has now also fallen out of the 12-month window, leaving Verstappen on six penalty points in total and further taking him out of the threat of a race ban.
Verstappen – whose next penalty point is due to expire on December 1, the day after the penultimate race of F1 2025 in Qatar – currently sits fourth on the F1 disciplinary chart behind Bearman, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll (seven penalty points) and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson (six).
More on Max Verstappen and Oliver Bearman from PlanetF1.com
Bearman had found himself on the brink of a race ban after picking up two penalty points for causing a collision with Williams driver Carlos Sainz in September’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, leaving him on 10 overall.
However, his two penalty points for causing a collision with Sainz’s Williams predecessor Franco Colapinto at last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix have now also fallen out of the current 12-month window.
It means Bearman now sits on eight penalty points in total, four away from a race ban.
The British driver remains in a precarious position having been hit with four penalty points for a single incident at this year’s British Grand Prix, where he crashed at pit entry under red flag conditions.
Bearman’s other penalty points were incurred at the Monaco Grand Prix, where he was hit with two points for overtaking Sainz under a red flag in second practice.
The teenager equalled Haas’s best-ever F1 result by finishing fourth in Mexico last month.
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