Max Verstappen clashed with Mercedes driver George Russell in the late stages of the Spanish GP. The Dutchman received a ten-second time penalty for the incident and three penalty points on his super licence, bringing his total to eleven.
If a driver accumulates twelve penalty points over two months, they are given a one-race ban. Verstappen’s first points to expire are on June 30th, which is after both the Canadian and Austrian Grand Prix. If he were to receive any points in those two races, he would have to serve a race ban. If this occurs, Red Bull is looking to bring in F2 star Arvid Lindblad.
Red Bull requests Arvid Lindblad super licence exemption
Red Bull has two teams and so needs to field four drivers. They have turned to their pool and identified highly rated Arvid Lindblad as the candidate to step in if necessary. The Brit has enough points on his super licence to race for Red Bull. The problem is that he doesn’t turn 18 until August, which would be after the main threat of Verstappen’s race ban.
Max Verstappen Faces Race Ban Threat After Spanish GP Penalty
Red Bull has applied for an exception to the FIA to allow Lindblad to step in if necessary. Kimi Antonelli was given an exception last season and drove the Mercedes in practice sessions.
Article 13.1.2 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code Appendix L says: “At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a Super Licence at the age of 17 years old.”
There must be optimism at Red Bull that the FIA will approve the request. He is having a good debut season in F2. Lindblad is currently third in the F2 standings, having won the sprint race in Saudi Arabia and the feature race in Barcelona. He would be a good replacement to come into Racing Bulls if Max Verstappen did receive a ban.
