Verstappen was penalized for a virtual safety car violation in Brazil’s F1 sprint

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been demoted to fourth in Formula 1’s Brazilian sprint race due to a five-second penalty for a virtual safety car infringement.

Verstappen climbed from fourth to third in the 24-lap sprint on Saturday after passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who the Dutchman had been trailing for the majority of the sprint.

But immediately afterwards Verstappen was flagged by race control to the stewards for a potential infringement during the late virtual safety car, which was called for Nico Hulkenberg’s stricken Haas.

Verstappen was deemed to have been under the mandated delta time after pulling alongside the second-placed McLaren of Oscar Piastri at the entrance to Turn 4.

A hearing between Red Bull and the FIA ​​stewards confirmed that, and Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty, bringing him back to fourth, behind Leclerc, in the updated classification.

Verstappen has also received a penalty point on his licence, taking him to seven points over a 12-month period where 12 points lead to a ban.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“The stewards heard from the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), the team representative and reviewed positioning/ranking system data, timing, telemetry evidence,” the FIA ​​ruling read.

“Article 56.5 says in part ‘All cars must also be over this minimum time when the FIA ​​light panels change to green’.

“The driver was 0.63 seconds under the minimum time at the end of the VSC when the FIA ​​light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained during the VSC.”

Verstappen, who was joined by Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley at the hearing, reportedly explained that he was aware he was under the delta time but was too late to correct it when the track turned green again.

“The driver explained that when he was waiting for the VSC to end and he was notified that he was under the minimum time, he attempted to correct the error but was unable to do so as the panels turned green,” the statement continued.

“This is a breach and the standard penalty is applied for the advantage gained at the time. The net effect of this put the driver in front where he was at the start of the VSC and not as a result of the car in front falling back. . “

McLaren took a one-two victory in the race, with pole sitter Piastri giving way to teammate Lando Norris late on as the latter battles Verstappen for the drivers’ championship.