Max Verstappen warned of F1 race ban as George Russell 'weakness' exposed

Jacques Villeneuve believes that Max Verstappen is still in danger of receiving a race ban before the season is out. The 1997 F1 world champion attributes this to the 'weakness' of George Russell knowing how to exploit his 'over-aggressive' side. Verstappen and Russell collided at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season with the reigning world champion picking up a 10-second time penalty and three FIA penalty points for his role in the contact.

After this, with his rival on the brink of an automatic one-race suspension, the Mercedes driver admitted that he would try to exploit that position. Fortunately for Verstappen, the following races in Canada, Austria and Britain went by without any additional penalty points, although there was still drama in Montreal after Russell braked hard in front of the Dutchman under safety car conditions - a move which Christian Horner suggested was intentional to try to catch the Red Bull man out.

While the immediate threat of a ban has eased, Verstappen is still in a precarious position. He sits on nine accumulated penalty points, meaning three more before the Mexican Grand Prix in October would see him sit out a race.

"Everyone has a weakness, a sore spot," Villeneuve told the Red Flags podcast ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. "Max sometimes sees red and goes a little bit over-aggressive, and it is costly for him, and in modern racing, that means you get points on your licence.

"Now he's [three] points away from being banned for a race, and there is a chance it might happen, and he might race differently because of that. Russell knows that [sore] spot, but he is not in the same game [as Verstappen]."

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Despite his predicament, Verstappen can't afford to back down and let his rivals walk over him. The reigning world champion's hopes of securing a fifth successive F1 crown are rapidly diminishing with Oscar Piastri now 69 points ahead of him at the top of the standings.

Verstappen already made it clear ahead of the Canadian GP that he has no plans to change his driving style based on the pressure of the FIA and other drivers. "I will always race hard," he confirmed. "I cannot just back out of everything. I'm just going to race like I always do. I trust myself."

Between now and the Mexican GP in October, Verstappen will make a major decision about his future. The 27-year-old is being linked with a blockbuster move to Mercedes, but has significant loyalty toward Red Bull, who have overseen his F1 journey thus far and brought him four Drivers' Championship titles.