Max Verstappen received a five-second penalty after an FIA review of a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) incident during the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race. The penalty drops Verstappen from third to fourth place, moving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into third and reducing Verstappen’s overall lead in the World Championship standings. This penalty impacts Verstappen’s points advantage over his closest 2024 title rival, Lando Norris, who won the sprint race, aided by McLaren’s team strategy.
The incident that triggered the penalty occurred late in the sprint race when Nico Hulkenberg’s car stopped due to an exhaust issue, causing a VSC period. As the race neared its restart, Verstappen pulled briefly alongside Oscar Piastri, Norris’s McLaren teammate, at Turn 4 but refrained from completing the pass as the VSC status was still active. Replays showed the VSC signals still illuminated as Verstappen and Piastri approached the corner, raising questions about whether Verstappen had gained an advantage.
The FIA’s investigation revealed that Verstappen’s car briefly fell below the mandatory minimum time under VSC, a breach of F1’s VSC rules that mandate a set pace to ensure fairness while the track is neutralized. According to Article 56.5, cars must stay above this minimum delta time until the VSC ends. The FIA confirmed that Verstappen was 0.63 seconds under this time, leading to the conclusion that he had gained a sporting advantage, resulting in the five-second penalty.
This penalty also added a point to Verstappen’s license, putting him at seven penalty points over the past year. If a driver accumulates 12 points within 12 months, they face an automatic one-race suspension. The ruling, based on the FIA’s positioning and telemetry data, notes that Verstappen tried to correct his pace after realizing his error but failed to do so in time.
This penalty follows another contentious incident for Verstappen, who received a rare 20-second penalty in the previous Mexican Grand Prix after two incidents with Norris. His on-track behavior has drawn criticism, with former F1 driver and steward Johnny Herbert calling Verstappen’s approach to racing “horrible” and reckless. Herbert, serving again on the stewarding panel in Brazil, has been vocal about Verstappen’s need to adhere to stricter driving standards amid heightened scrutiny of aggressive tactics in F1.
