When Max Verstappen flashed his middle finger while passing the Williams garage during Friday’s winter test in Bahrain, a number of eyebrows were immediately raised in the paddock. The FIA has recently announced a crackdown on driver conduct, and Verstappen’s penalty points tally puts him at risk of a race ban in the worst-case scenario.
The Red Bull driver currently has eight penalty points on his tally. Any driver accumulating 12 or more points within a 12-month period faces an automatic race ban. Verstappen’s first two penalty points will not expire until 30 June, the anniversary of his 2024 Austrian Grand Prix skirmish with Lando Norris, which earned him a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points.
