Five drivers who can replace F1 bans with police officers

Max Verstappen has found itself only one point away from triggering an automatic one-race suspension.

The four-time world champion scored three penalty points above a 10-second penalty penalty for a red mist collision with Mercedes George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

This has earned Verstappen up to 11 super altitude points for the current 12-month period. Accumulating 12 penalty points over a year results in a ban on one race.

Verstappen scored eight penalty points during the 2024 season. Two of these will automatically expire after June 30th, the day after the Austrian Grand Prix.

This means that Dutchman will have to take his best in the next two races in Canada and Austria to avoid the suspension that will serve as a hammer blow to his hopes of winning his fifth consecutive world title this year.

Since the introduction of Formula 1 penalty points in 2014, only Kevin Magnussen has been banned. Dane had to watch the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the bystanders after scoring 12 penalty points in 12 months.

If Verstappen becomes the second F1 driver to turn the ban into a police officer, who could replace him?

Isack Hadjar

Following the fantastic start of his rookie Formula 1 campaign, Isack Hadjar will be a major candidate to sneak into Verstappen if Red Bull needs to shuffle the drivers’ lineup.

Aside from crashing from his debut race on the formation lap in Australia, Hajar was in great form and appeared as Red Bull’s second-best performance driver behind Verstappen.

Hajar scored points in five of his first nine Grand Prix, including an incredible 6th place finish in Monaco.

The 20-year-old Frenchman, who finished runner-up in F2 last year, is ninth in the drivers’ championship ahead of current Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda and his experienced Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson.

Liam Lawson

Lawson was already in the Red Bull hot seat this season, but his disastrous stint lasted only two races before an extraordinary relegation returning to the team’s sister team.

Despite this, the Kiwi is a Red Bull option. Especially if you don’t want to throw a Haddger at the deep edge and destabilize important momentum and progress early in your F1 career.

Lawson has at least been extremely difficult to drive a Red Bull RB21 car, and may be keen on the opportunity to show that he was dropped too quickly.

Ayumu Iwasa

If Red Bull wanted to use this opportunity to impress an entirely new driver, they could turn to Youmu Iwasa.

Iwasa is a backup driver for the Red Bull and tested it with the team. The 23-year-old Japanese driver is currently competing in the Japanese Super Formula Series and is a race winner in both Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Iwasa has already tasted the F1 machinery with both Red Bull and Racing Bulls. Recently, I’ve been behind the wheel of Verstappen’s RB21 RB21 FP1 at Bahrain Grand Prix, but I haven’t had the opportunity to race with either team.

Arvid Lindblad

There is a great deal of excitement surrounding the Red Bull Protege Arvid Lindblad, which is thought to be the team’s next verstappen.

The 17-year-old has already won his first victory in his rookie F2 season, appearing as an early title contender, leading Red Bull to ask the FIA ​​to exempt Lindblad from the F1 super-advanced rules.

This was done to allow Lindblad to participate in the Formula 1 practice session before his 18th birthday in August, and was submitted well before the Verstappen penalty status unfolded.

Like Iwasa, if Hadjar or Lawson gets promoted, Lindblad is more likely to be placed in Racing Bulls.

Daniel Riccardo or Sergio Perez

With a farther option, either Daniel Ricciardo or Sergio Perez could bring back the return if the team wanted an experienced and known hand.

It is difficult to imagine either Ricardo or Perez accepting such an opportunity given their respective F1 tenure and affiliation with Red Bull ended with such brutal manners.

Ricardo has been completely distanced from motorsports ever since losing Racing Bulls Drive last year, but Perez is also in the middle of racing sabbaticals and appears to be focused on securing an F1 comeback with the Cadillac in 2026.