He is the F1 driver once known as a ‘first-lap nutcase’ who then scored more points than Damon Hill

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Max Verstappen is closer to a race ban than any other Formula 1 driver. The world champion has racked up eight of the permitted 12 points.

Verstappen is slowly creeping away from jeopardy, with the first two points due to expire at the end of June. He received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his battle with Oscar Piastri in Saudi Arabia, but escaped further punishment.

The Dutchman must avoid becoming only the second driver to be banned under F1’s penalty-point system. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was suspended for the Azerbaijan GP last year after a spate of incidents.

Newcomers Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan also have to be careful, with both already a third of the way to a ban. The same is true of Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Piastri.

Generally, the standard of driving in F1 is higher than ever. The sport’s growth, combined with the cost-cap, has made teams more financially stable and less inclined to sign pay drivers who may bring more commercial backing than on-track talent.

Romain Grosjean proved his Formula 1 critics wrong after crash-laden start

Before Magnussen’s ban, the last driver who was forced to sit out a race was Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman missed the 2012 Italian GP after being deemed the instigator of a frightening multi-car accident in Spa.

Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez were also involved in the crash, which saw Grosjean vault over the nose of the Ferrari. Just three races later, he hit Mark Webber at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix and was branded a ‘first-lap nutcase’ by the Australian.

Grosjean received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty – the most severe sanction short of a disqualification – for that collision. He’d also been involved in early shunts in Australia, Malaysia, Spain, Monaco, Great Britain and Germany, in addition to Belgium.

After a staggering list of incidents, Grosjean sought the guidance of a psychologist, as journalist Laurence Edmondson recalled on ESPN’s Unlapped podcast.

“A lot of the drivers do [work with a psychologist],” he said. “It’s not uncommon at all now in Formula 1. I remember one of the first drivers to do it was Romain Grosjean, who went through his spate early in his career where he was just crashing.

“He was called a first-lap nutcase by Mark Webber because he so often managed to drive into another car. He was the wrecking ball. It was essential for him to do that. Had he not done that, he would have spiralled down.

“He said it was incredibly tough. He got a race ban after Spa 2012, which made it very clear he was on the wrong trajectory. Grosjean never developed into a championship winner or even close to that, but it definitely helped him with his career.”

Guenther Steiner reveals the brutal advice he gave to Romain Grosjean during Haas days

Grosjean’s work on his headspace clearly laid off. It was always going to be difficult to recover from being so brutally criticised by a respected fellow driver, but he managed it.

He scored six podiums during the 2013 season en route to seventh in the championship. By the end of his career, he hit double figures, reaching 179 race starts after two stints at Haas.

That ranks Grosjean just outside the top 30 all-time, and his 391 total points put him above drivers like Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill (both 360) and Juan Pablo-Montoya (307). While he raced in a more lucrative era in that sense, this is still a testament to his longevity.

• READ MORE: Romain Grosjean reveals what happened to Mercedes F1 test he was once promised by Toto Wolff, ‘it’s my fault…’

Few would have expected Grosjean to last quite so long in F1 after the events of his first year. But he deserves credit for recognising and addressing his weaknesses.

The final race of his career was the 2020 Bahrain GP, where he survived a fiery crash that ripped his car in half. While he didn’t return for 2021, Guenther Steiner told Grosjean Haas were in for a ‘painful’ year, so his exit may have been for the best.