Max Verstappen has been hit with a five-second time penalty following a breach of the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) rules during the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday, Afrosport reports.
The Red Bull driver finished in third place ahead Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc whom he overtook during the race.
The penalty has now demoted him to fourth where he started the sprint race from with Leclerc moving up to third.
BREAKING: Max Verstappen receives a five-second time penalty for infringing Virtual Safety Car rules during #F1Sprint
Verstappen, who finished third, drops to fourth place#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/sQHUFlmETl
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2024
The demotion means Verstappen has lost a point to title rival Lando Norris who won the sprint ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri after a team order for both drivers to swap positions.
It means the Red Bull driver has dropped another point to title rival Lando Norris, who was handed victory in the sprint by teammate Oscar Piastri following a McLaren team order
Verstappen now leads Norris by 44 points with four Grands Prix and one sprint race remaining. He also has a penalty point applied to his licence.
A statement by racing governing body, the FIA, on the decision of the stewards read: “Article 56.5 states in part “All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green.
The driver was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green.
“This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC. The driver explained that as he was awaiting VSC to end and he got the notification that he was below the minimum time, he attempted to correct the error but failed to do so by the point that the panels turned green. This is a breach and the standard penalty is applied for the advantage gained at that time.
“The net effect of this put the driver ahead of where he was at the start of the VSC and not as a result of the car in front falling back.”
Verstappen will serve a five-place grid drop in Sunday’s main race after changing his internal combustion engine for the sixth time this season.
