With 11 penalty points on his licence, the reigning world champion finds himself on the brink of a race ban – a sanction that could effectively ruin his already fading chances of defending his title this year.

Formula 1 ’s penalty points system has been placed under the spotlight after Max Verstappen ’s punishment for his collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Dutchman was handed a 10-second time penalty for ramming Russell late in the race, before the FIA gave the Red Bull driver three penalty points on his FIA superlicence.

Max Verstappen faces an uphill battle to avoid a race ban as he’ll need to navigate a clean Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix