When asked about his register of sins, world champion Max Verstappen reacted annoyed. “Should that be a joke?” Said the Dutch Red Bull driver at the driver press conference on the Formula 1 race in Spielberg. “I will be asked every weekend.”
Verstappen has threatened a racing lock since the beginning of June. After a collision with Mercedes driver George Russell in Barcelona, the 27-year-old suffered three penalty points and is therefore at eleven. Twelve notes in the super license lead to a lock. If Verstappen allows itself to be worthy of sanction in Austria this weekend, it will automatically be closed to the Grand Prix of Great Britain next week.
It will be tight for Verstappen
Penalpoints only fall after a year. This means that Verstappen would get rid of two of them immediately after the race in Styria on Monday.
Red Bull has long been preparing for a lock of Verstappen. The only 17 -year -old home -grown Arvid Lindblad, currently active in Formula 2, will sit in the car in Silverstone in Friday training.
Emergency plan with a 17-year-old
“We are preparing if something should happen to Max Verstappen with regard to his penalty points. We currently have two replacement drivers: Lindblad and Ayumu Iwasa, in which Formula 1 dates with his inserts in Japan,” said Red Bull Motor Sports Advisor Helmut Marko of the “Kleine Zeitung”.
Actually, a driver must be 18 years old to get the required Formula 1 license. According to the FIA motorsport association, Lindblad has shown outstanding skills in the formula sport over a longer period of time, which is why Red Bull’s application was approved before its age of majority in early August.