F1 champion Max Verstappen defiant despite looming suspension threat at Canadian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen arrived at the Canadian Grand Prix a single point away from a one-race suspension following his collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The four-time reigning Formula 1 champion is adamant he will not change his driving style despite the warning hanging over him to be on his best behavior. His collision earned him three penalty points.

''I will always race hard," the Dutchman said in Montreal.

Verstappen has a total of 11 penalty points over a rolling 12-month period, which puts him one point shy of the one-race ban. He will be in the clear after the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of the month when two points will drop off. Until then, he races in danger of suspension.

Since the penalty system was introduced in 2014, only one driver has been suspended for reaching the 12-point limit — Kevin Magnussen, who missed last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

In 2012, Romain Grosjean was suspended one race for causing a multi-car pile-up at the start of the Belgian GP. At the time, he was the first driver banned for a race since Michael Schumacher in 1994.

Verstappen is not concerned about becoming the third driver suspended and remained defiant he won't change his approach.

''I cannot just back out of everything,'' Verstappen said. ''I'm just going to race like I always do. I trust myself.''

His approach has drawn criticism throughout his career as Verstappen has gone wheel-to-wheel with multiple drivers, including a tense 2021 in which he seemed to constantly be sparring with both Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

"What is not fair? I don't worry about it. I just come here to race, and I will always race hard, race how I think I should always race, and then we go on to the next race,'' he said while acknowledging a suspension would be ''not ideal'' for his struggling Red Bull team.

He said in Canada he was ''not here to try and get a ban'' and his racing style and penalty points is not that big of a deal to him and "maybe for you (the media), not for me. I don't think about it.''

Verstappen did take some accountability for his incident with Russell in Spain. He wrote on social media the incident was ''not right'' and ''shouldn't have happened.''

Russell, of Mercedes, was taken aback by Verstappen's admission because it's uncharacteristic of the single-minded driver.

''I was a bit surprised to see him taking responsibility, because it's quite unlike him,'' Russell said. "I want to believe that he didn't intentionally try and crash into me, because that would be pretty bonkers.

"I think he just tried to show who was boss and put his elbows out, and got it wrong.''

The two saw each other earlier this week in an airport, Russell said, but did not discuss the incident. The crash allowed Russell to move up in the finishing order to fourth in Spain.

''There's nothing from my side we need to talk about,'' Russell said. ''Had I been taken out of the race, I'd be feeling very differently, for sure. But ultimately his actions benefited me and cost him. I should say ‘thanks.'''

His rivals were suspect of what Verstappen might do on the track considering how he's raced many of them over the years.

''I don't think anything really changes, because you don't know what he's going to do,'' Norris said. ''There's no point trying to think of what to do differently. It's the same as normal. I think he's still going to fight. He's further behind in the points. If anything, he's going to fight more.

''There's no point trying to assume things or to just guess. When you're in a position of fighting him on the track, you can't just think, ‘Ah, he's going to give me more space,' and (then) he doesn't, and then something happens.''

Verstappen has seemed to concede any chance of Red Bull reclaiming the constructors' championship from McLaren, which unseated Red Bull last year. And, he seems to be giving up on a fifth driver championship as he trails both McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Norris.

Verstappen is 49 points behind leader Piastri and 39 points behind Norris.

Piastri is not concerned with Verstappen on the track.

''I'll just try and race how I always do. I think I normally try to race quite smart and keep myself out of trouble,'' he said. "A good saying is that it's often better to still be in the race than to prove that you were right in the situation. So I'll try and keep that.''

Verstappen, for his part, isn't worried about his competitors goading him into a potential penalty.

''I'll race how I want to race,'' Verstappen said. ''It's not going to change anything.''

Verstappen is the three-time defending Canadian GP winner.

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