Revolutionary Penalty Proposed to Stop Max Verstappen and Allow Other “Good Drivers” to Win

Max Verstappen has irritated as many fans as he has pleased with his dominance. While the F1 world remains divided on what F1 needs to do to excite fans, the presence of a neck-to-neck rivalry is the need of the hour. Netflix reported a 30% drop in ‘Drive to Survive’ viewership in the premiere week, compared to 2023. And that seems to be the case for live-race viewership as well. To restore the balance, commercially and for the other 19 drivers, former F1 team boss Paul Stoddart has a radical suggestion.

Verstappen has routed through the grid ever since he stopped Lewis Hamilton in 2021. All drivers except him are playing second fiddle. Ferrari and McLaren are moving shoulder-to-shoulder toward the top and showing promise but somewhat inadequate. So, former Minardi boss Stoddart believes that there should be a weight penalty that should be implemented by F1 for the reigning World Champion.

In his latest interview, the Australian was asked if Max Verstappen has made the pinnacle of motorsport boring. “It is [boring],” Stoddart told Motorsport’s Dutch outlet. “Unfortunately, that’s what happens when one team or one driver dominates year after year. But there are always ways to do something about it.”

He continued, “Personally, I would be in favor of, for example, a penalty weight of five kilograms for the reigning world champion. That should be enough to bring it back to an even level, while the good drivers would still be able to win. They wouldn’t have much of a problem with that. But it’s still a difficult issue because you do start to get to the purity of racing.”

Though Stoddart’s informal proposal promises to bring a more level playing field, it goes against the ideologies of pure racing, as he pointed out. An interesting point to consider here is whether the Dutchman can continue his rampage in a rival team’s car. With the Mercedes rumors already swirling, we could get to see that.

Max Verstappen finally addresses rumors around Mercedes switch

With a mammoth of uncertainty looming over Red Bull’s stable future, Max Verstappen and his ally Adrian Newey’s future remains undecided. Amid this growing instability, Toto Wolff declared the Dutchman as Mercedes’ number 1 prospect. But the man himself doesn’t seem to be interested in a non-Red Bull seat for now.

“At the moment nobody is afraid of that [his exit], I think,” Verstappen told the Dutch publication AD. “Two weeks back, though? Mwah, that may be. But some people also read a lot, I don’t. And I think in general that does help. That’s what I do try to tell people, yes, that they better not read it all for a while, certain things. And if there are any questions, anyone in the team can always call me.”

Read More: Max Verstappen’s Chief Mechanic Quits Amid Christian Horner’s Rumored Red Bull Seizure Attempt

If he continues with Red Bull, a Drivers’ championship looks guaranteed for 2024, at least. Analysts believe that this championship run will continue into 2025 as well. But with Ferrari showing great progress, that could be a challenge.