Martin Brundle’s advice to ‘goad’ Max Verstappen into F1 race ban

Martin Brundle has told Max Verstappen’s rivals to “goad” him into receiving an F1 race ban.

Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty and three penalty points for his controversial collision with George Russell last time out in Spain which has moved him onto 11 penalty points from the last 12 months.

That means the Red Bull driver faces the threat of picking up an F1 race suspension and he must now navigate the next two races in Canada and Austria without further incidents to avoid such a scenario unfolding.

Ex-F1 driver Brundle said he would have given Verstappen the full four penalty points and a drive through penalty for the incident, but would not have gone as far as black-flagging the Dutchman, as some suggested.

"He's an aggressive driver and that's how he rock and rolls. That’s how he goes racing,” Brundle said during Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the Canadian Grand Prix.

“Max has got such amazing car control, he can place his car, he knows the rules and can chance his luck. More and more he's losing out on that.”

Brundle went on to advise championship hopefuls Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to try and force Verstappen into making a critical error that would see him receive a ban.

"If I was a Mercedes, McLaren or Ferrari driver I would be goading him to get those extra points because subconsciously he knows he needs to be a touch more careful,” Brundle added.

“But in Max's mind he thinks this year's World Championship against two great drivers in a McLaren is a long shot.”

Verstappen won’t change approach

Verstappen insisted ahead of the weekend that he has no intention to change his approach to how he goes racing.

Asked about a change of approach, Verstappen defiantly replied: “I don’t know, why should I?

"I can't just back out of everything. I'm going to race how I do. I trust myself."

Verstappen told Sky Sports F1: “If you look at it in general, missing a race is not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world.”