Max Verstappen heads to Monaco GP with clean F1 slate after moment of madness

It was one of the most defining moments of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Following a safety-car restart in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, George Russell launched an attack that Red Bull's four-time F1 champion Verstappen repelled, albeit taking an escape road to avoid major contact.

Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase ordered the Dutchman to hand the place back, a decision which did not go down well with Verstappen.

When Verstappen did cede to Lambiase's request, it was not without retribution as he deliberately drove into the side of Russell's Mercedes

The stewards ruled that the collision was undoubtedly caused by Verstappen's actions and handed out a 10-second time penalty, dropping him from fifth to ninth in the classification. The lost points played a role in him missing out on a fifth consecutive drivers' championship.

Verstappen was also handed three penalty points on his super licence, taking him to 11 within a 12-month period, and leaving him one away from an automatic one-race ban.

"What happened there was obviously not pretty, but it also happened because I really care about something," Verstappen told Viaplay later that year.

Over the course of the past 12 months, various infringements that also accrued points have expired. The three penalty points for the Russell incident have also now gone, giving him a clean slate for the first time in a while.

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