Max Verstappen has been handed a five-second time penalty and one penalty point on his license for a Virtual Safety Car breach during the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race.
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Therefore, the Red Bull driver now falls into fourth position behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after crossing the finish line in third.
Verstappen’s VSC Infringement
The closing laps of Saturday’s sprint race were put under a Virtual Safety Car after the Haas of Niko Hulkenberg came to a halt at the side of the track after a suspected exhaust issue.
At this stage, McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were in first and second position, with Verstappen in third.
The Dutch driver pulled alongside Piastri on the approach to Turn 4, a key overtaking spot, as the race was preparing to resume. He then backed out just as the pair reached the corner.
Evidently, trackside panels at this time denoted a Virtual Safety Car period, with the race resuming shortly after.
All drivers are required to drive a ‘delta time’ under a VSC to prevent competitors from gaining an unfair advantage.
After being noted, the FIA deliberated that Verstappen’s actions would have gained him an unfair advantage, putting him “ahead of where he was at the start of the VSC and not as a result of the car in front falling back.”
Article 56.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations states that “All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green”, with Verstappen 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC end.
Verstappen insisted that he was notified that he was below the minimum time and attempted to correct his error but was unable to do so by the time the panels turned green.
Verstappen’s Brazilian GP Penalties
A five-second time penalty has been handed to the driver alongside one penalty point on his license.
The Dutch driver therefore finishes the sprint race in fourth position behind Norris, Piastri and Leclerc respectively.
This comes after Verstappen received two 10-second time penalties after two separate incidents with championship-rival Norris at last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Verstappen now also has seven out of the possible 12 penalty points on his license this season.
Featured Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
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