Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points for driving into Mercedes' George Russell in the final stages of the Spanish Grand Prix, which brings his total over the past 12 months up to 11, with 12 leading to an automatic one race ban. Only after the Austria race will he start losing points again to diminish that threat.

Never mind keeping his elbows in to avoid an incident that could lead to a race ban, Lando Norris reckons Max Verstappen will actually “fight more” given his World title is on the line. Verstappen will line up on Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix grid one point away from an automatic Formula 1 race ban.