Max Verstappen is tired of the penalty points question following his controversial driving at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, as the defending world champion gives a foul-mouthed rant when asked if it will influence his driving in June 15’s Canadian GP.
The Red Bull racer collected 10-second time penalty at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 1, as well as three penalty points on his FIA Super License, meaning he is one offence away from being suspended for a race.
He collected the punishment for crashing into the side of George Russell in the dying embers of that Sunday, aggrieved from a previous incident against the Mercedes that forced the Dutchman to leave the circuit – with some such as Nico Rosberg suggesting it was deliberate.
Now with Russell on pole in Canada, people are wondering if Verstappen will be just as aggressive from second, or whether he will change his approach, but this penalty points question seems to have got to him, as he gives a foul-mouthed rant and dodges answering.
“I don’t need to hear it again,” Verstappen told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “It’s really p***ing me off. I mean, you were speaking about it on Thursday.
“It’s such a waste of time. It’s very childish. So, that’s why I also don’t want to say too much because it’s really annoying, this world that we live in.”
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This is not the first time the four-time champion has been asked about his standards on the race track and told the media that he doesn’t appreciate it.
Following the 2018 Monaco GP, he similarly bit back at the press, who suggested he should change his driving to avoid persistent crashes after missing out on a chance for pole in Monte Carlo.
“Well you know, I get really tired of all the comments about me that I should change my approach,” Verstappen said in press conference, coincidentally in Canada that year. He later added, “I don’t know, and like I said at the beginning of this press conference, I get really tired of all the questions.
“And I think if I get a few more, I’ll head-butt someone…”
Verstappen sets target for 2025 Canadian GP amid penalty points spat
Eventually asked for his prospects in the 2025 Canadian GP, the 65-time Grand Prix winner was surprisingly conservative as he revealed his target is to simply be on the podium, despite the out-of-position McLarens.
Oscar Piastri will start from third on the grid whilst Lando Norris is all the way down in seventh, meaning at least one of the papaya cars is unlikely to challenge him, whilst he only has Russell ahead.
And Mercedes have generally lacked the pace to fight Red Bull across the 2025 Formula 1 season, yet all the same, the defending champ insists he is simply looking to maximise his weekend without a particular finishing spot in mind.
“I think being on the podium,” Verstappen added to media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Trying to be as competitive as we can be, trying to extract the most out of the car.
“But I don’t know. We’ll probably find out after the race if we did so. But, yeah, hopefully we can just be good on tyre management.”
