Max Verstappen rivals handed advice in face of F1 ban danger

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has suggested Max Verstappen's rivals should provoke the Red Bull driver into picking up extra penalty points as he sits perilously close to a race ban.

Verstappen picked up three penalty points on his super licence after colliding with George Russell in the latter stages of the race.

It places the Dutchman to within one point of being issued a race ban, with the next points dropping off his licence at the end of the month.

As he navigates the next two races on the side of caution, Brundle believes his rivals should seek to get the four-time champion into further bother on the track.

“If I was Mercedes, Ferrari or in particular a McLaren driver, I’d be goading him to get those extra points,” Brundle told Sky F1.

“I think subconsciously, he knows he's got to be a touch more careful. 

“But I think also in Max's mind, he thinks this year's world championship against two great drivers in very fast McLarens is a long shot.”

Verstappen has come under criticism in the past for his aggressive on-track tactics, having often pushed his rivals wide while in wheel-to-wheel combat.

Brundle stated Verstappen's attitude is unchanged since his rookie season, but suggested his approach is starting to bite back.

“He's an aggressive driver, he was from the get-go in F1,” Brundle said. “That's how he rocks and rolls.

“You can't cherry-pick the bits you like about a sports person. That's how Max goes racing, and he's won the last four world championships.

“He would say, ‘tell me exactly which bit of that is completely wrong.' That's how he is.

“He's got such amazing car control that he can place his car, he knows the rules, he chances his luck, and more and more, he's starting to lose out on that.”