Red Bull “orders” to Max Verstappen – Given the way the 2024 season finished, it was never going to be an easy year for the F1 drivers’ champion to mount a challenge for a record fifth consecutive season. Lando Norris and McLaren were hunting down Verstappen in the title race, with the British driver coming up short by the end of the year.
Yet it was Ferrari who were properly at the races over the closing triple headers, they reduced McLaren’s advantage from some 75 points after the Singapore Grand Prix to just fourteen come the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi. However, bizarrely Fred Vasseur announced at the annual festive party in Maranello, that the Ferrari car for 2025 would be “99% new.”
This approach is coming back to bite the Scuderia, who have struggled this year to convince the competition they are anything other than the fourth quickest team. Yes they are ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ race but the team from Milton Keynes is in effect racing this year with just one driver capable of regular and decent points.
3 penalty points in Spain leaves Max on the cusp
Last time out in Spain, Verstappen’s hopes of the fifth title took a serious knock, as he was penalised post the chequered flag and classified in tenth position with just one point. He now stands 49 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri and while next up in Canada and Austria are circuits where Max excels but he now has the sword of Damocles above his head.
Three penalty points for crashing in Russel in Spain means Verstappen is just one away from a raced weekend suspension from the FIA. And given the number of on track incidents there have been this year including Verstappen, staying clear of trouble for two whole race weekends at present seems a stretch for the world champion.
Verstappen offered an olive branch for the incident in Barcelona, although he never mentioned Russell by name, merely stating it “should not have happened,” and was subsequently criticised for refusing to issue a formal apology. Yet the price Verstappen now must pay should he fall foul of the stewards across the next two weekends may be high.
Max is now on eleven F1 license penalty points unit; two fall away at the beginning of July, one more sanction and the race stewards can issue an automatic one race ban to the Dutch driver. Red Bull adviser Dr. Helmut Marko has now addressed the situation even stating that Red Bull will be issuing their star driver with a ‘team order.”
Red Bull “disaster” if Max banned for Austria
The Austrian believes that the “disaster” scenario of Max being banned will not come to pass, but reveals Verstappen will be instructed by his team in Canada not to do “anything rash” in Canada. Writing for Speedweek, Marko states: “Now he mustn’t do anything wrong over the next two race weekends, and of course he will be told not to do anything rash.
“It would be a disaster if he couldn’t start in Austria,” he adds, which is Red Bull Racing’s home F1 weekend. “But we don’t expect that to happen, because it’s not really the case that Max does anything wrong in every race. The first penalty points will be cancelled after Austria.”
The two points Verstappen will drop in early July, were awarded by the race stewards at the 2024 Austrian GP. There for lap after lap Lando battled with Max for the lead of the race, before the Red Bull driver closed the door too firmly at turn three and the pair came together. Norris race was finished, but Verstappen recovered to P6 at the chequered flag on his way to his fourth drivers’ title.
Even dropping two points, Max remains within three of another race ban and the next set of points to fall from his license will be much later in the year on October 27. This will be another two which were awarded at the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix, where the world champion was deemed to have pushed his rival Norris for the track.
Max’s points awarded in quick succession
With Verstappen under pressure to retain his title over the final six races of last season, the mistakes and points came thick and fast after Mexico. In Brazil another point was awarded for a safety car infringement and a further one came in Qatar when famously Russell was accused by Verstappen of trying to get him sanctioned by the stewards in qualifying.
Another two points came at the season finale in Abu Dhabi for causing a collision with Piastri on lap one, something max has been close to doing several times this year with the McLaren drivers. Yet despite the many tight battles into turn one this year, Verstappen has kept it clean and no further action before Spain has been taken by the stewards.
Marko explained that Verstappen had a series of “bitter pills to swallow” at the Spanish GP, from ending up on hard tyres at the Safety Car restart, to getting all out of shape onto the main straight, to hits from Charles Leclerc and Russell, before finally that incident at Turn 5 as it looked like he was slowing to let Russell through under Red Bull instruction, only to accelerate again and hit the Mercedes.
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11 Grand Prix weekends for Verstappen to endure
Dr. Helmut Marko believes there were extreme circumstances which took place last weekend in Barcelona. “You have to look at the overall situation,” he noted. “Firstly, he was given the hard tyre even though he didn’t want it.
“Then there was this swerve on the first lap [after the restart], which almost sent him flying off. Next, Leclerc drives into the side of his car at a good 300 km/h. That went completely under the radar and was also very dangerous.
“Naturally, the atmosphere was tense as a result. Finally, there was an incident with Russell. And Max, who knows the regulations inside out, said that he didn’t have to give the place back. But he was told that he had to give the position back. That was a lot of bitter pills for him to swallow. On top of that, Russell is not exactly his best friend,” concludes the Red Bull consultant.
Verstappen now has eleven race weekends ahead where he will be on the cusp of a one race ban. Without further infringements, the Red Bull driver will be in the clear following the 2025 Mexican Grand Prix.
F1: The Movie, too good to be true?
By the time the Formula One circus returns to Austria after next weekend in Canada, F1 The Movie will have been released in Cinemas across the world. The initial response from the critics has been one of overwhelming support as the movie by Joseph Kosinski, the director of Top Gun: Maverick, has today received widespread accolades from those who have attended a pre-release showing.
‘A high octane summer blockbuster’ is how the film is billed as the critics say this is another must-see thrill ride with great action sequences and strong dramatic performances from its cast. Also, this is another blockbuster this year that must be seen on an IMAX screen.
The reviews are so good, the movie itself is surely going to be a disappointment and this would be no surprise given Hollywood over the decades has failed to produce many motor racing films which are any good. The now iconic Le Mans filmed during the 1970 24 hour race featured pi up star Steve McQueen… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
