Max Verstappen will not change his driving style in 2025 despite being just four penalty points away from a race ban that would have a disastrous impact on his chances of defending his Drivers’ Championship title.
The Red Bull star closed out the 2024 World Championship in style, fending off McLaren’s Lando Norris despite winning just two of the final 14 Grands Prix. This remarkable feat was achieved with the help of some extremely aggressive driving, which cost Verstappen’s title rival critical points throughout the year.
Unfortunately for Verstappen, he may pay the price for that success in 2025. The Dutchman sits on eight penalty points heading into the new campaign, and worse still, none of those points will be removed from his FIA super license before the end of June.
Speaking to Blick about the punishments received by the FIA, Verstappen explained: “Well, we could discuss some of the penalties and the points for hours. Like [Fernando] Alonso, I already have eight penalty points. But that won’t change my driving style.”
He added: “As I said, I won’t change my driving style because of that. I know when I’ve gone too far. Like in the finale in Abu Dhabi when I attacked Piastri at the start. I had no problem apologizing to the Australian after the race.”
In 2024, Kevin Magnussen became the first driver since Romain Grosjean to receive an F1 race ban after accumulating 12 penalty points. As a result, he was forced to miss the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Oliver Bearman stepping in.
For Magnussen, this was little more than an inconvenience. However, for Verstappen, a race ban in 2025 would likely have disastrous consequences for his title defence. The Dutchman is already on the back foot heading into the new campaign, of course. Ferrari and McLaren are the red-hot favourites, leaving Red Bull with work to do.
Despite watching his squad finish third in the Constructors’ Championship last term, Verstappen believes that Red Bull have what it takes to recover. “I don’t have a crystal ball, but if we can fix certain weaknesses over the winter, we’ll be back at the top,” he stated.
“But I’m certainly not making a prediction here. Five teams should be fighting at the top. The weaknesses have been narrowed down. The necessary balance was often lacking because we simply couldn’t get into the small temperature window. That means you end up wandering around a bit wildly.”
Source link
