Max Verstappen Pledges To Race Hard Despite Potential Suspension
Verstappen is perilously close to a one-race suspension
It's no secret that when his back is against the wall, Red Bull's Max Verstappen is as aggressive a Formula 1 driver as you will ever see.
Of course, sometimes that causes some problems for him, as was the case in Spain two weeks ago, where an on-track incident with Mercedes' George Russell cost Verstappen a boatload of points in the standings, and earned him some penalty points.
F1's penalty point system was introduced more than a decade ago, and only one driver has ever hit the 12-point mark that earns a driver a suspension. That was then-Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, who racked up 12 points and missed out on last season's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Going into this weekend's race in Canada, Verstappen has 11 points, which means that one incident severe enough to earn a penalty point will mean he's suspended for the next race, something that would be a massive blow to any chance he has of winning a fifth-straight championship.
Still, Verstappen himself made it clear that we shouldn't expect to see him back down in any way.
"I will always race hard," he said, per the Associated Press. "I cannot just back out of everything. I’m just going to race like I always do. I trust myself."
Max Verstappen is showing no signs of backing down despite being one penalty point away from a one race suspension.. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Verstappen reportedly noted that a suspension for him would be "not ideal" for his team, which might be the understatement of the year.
Red Bull currently has 144 points in the constructors' standings. Verstappen is responsible for 137 of those.
"What is not fair? I don’t worry about it. I just come here to race, and I will always race hard, race how I think I should always race, and then we go on to the next race," he said.
Verstappen's weekend got off to a solid start with the Dutchman topping the first practice session of the weekend; however, he finished the second practice session in P9, just over half a second off the pace of his old pal George Russell, who led the session.