Max Verstappen received a five-second penalty for breaking VSC rules during the Brazil sprint race, causing him to fall to fourth place.

MaxMax Verstappen receives penalty for violating VSC, moves down to fourth place.

During the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint race, Max Verstappen received a five-second time penalty for breaking Virtual Safety Car rules.

Verstappen, who crossed the finish line in third place, has been moved down to fourth place as a result of the penalty, placing him behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

This implies that the Red Bull driver has lost one more point to title contender Lando Norris, who was awarded the win in the sprint race thanks to a McLaren team order from teammate Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen currently holds a 44-point advantage over Norris with four grand prix races and one sprint race left.

The Dutch driver must start five places back in Sunday’s race due to using his sixth engine this year.

Verstappen’s licence has been given a penalty point as well.

Part of Article 56.5 specifies that all vehicles must be beyond this minimum time when the FIA light panels switch to green. According to the stewards’ report, the driver was 0.63 seconds faster than the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels turned green.

This shows a benefit in sports obtained during VSC. The driver tried to fix the mistake of being below the minimum time while waiting for VSC to end, but he was unsuccessful before the panels turned green. This is a violation and the usual punishment is enforced for the benefit acquired at that moment.

The end result was that the driver ended up further ahead than he was when the Virtual Safety Car started, not because the car in front slowed down.
Verstappen receives penalty for violating VSC, moves down to fourth place.

Max Verstappen received a five-second penalty for breaking VSC rules during the Brazil sprint race, causing him to fall to fourth place.

During the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint race, Max Verstappen received a five-second time penalty for breaking Virtual Safety Car rules.

Verstappen, who crossed the finish line in third place, has been moved down to fourth place as a result of the penalty, placing him behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

This implies that the Red Bull driver has lost one more point to title contender Lando Norris, who was awarded the win in the sprint race thanks to a McLaren team order from teammate Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen currently holds a 44-point advantage over Norris with four grand prix races and one sprint race left.

The Dutch driver must start five places back in Sunday’s race due to using his sixth engine this year.

Verstappen’s licence has been given a penalty point as well.

Part of Article 56.5 specifies that all vehicles must be beyond this minimum time when the FIA light panels switch to green. According to the stewards’ report, the driver was 0.63 seconds faster than the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels turned green.

This shows a benefit in sports obtained during VSC. The driver tried to fix the mistake of being below the minimum time while waiting for VSC to end, but he was unsuccessful before the panels turned green. This is a violation and the usual punishment is enforced for the benefit acquired at that moment.

The end result was that the driver ended up further ahead than he was when the Virtual Safety Car started, not because the car in front slowed down.