Max Verstappen fell to 4th place in the Sao Paulo Sprint after receiving a penalty for a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) infringement.
Verstappen was handed a five-place grid penalty for using an additional power unit component, meaning he will start further down the grid for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
In the Sprint race, Lando Norris of McLaren took the win, while Verstappen, racing for Oracle Red Bull Racing, was demoted from 3rd to 4th due to the penalty. The decision came after Verstappen was found to have breached the minimum delta time during the VSC period. As a result, Charles Leclerc moved up to 3rd place.
Following the penalty, Verstappen’s lead in the championship standings over Lando Norris was reduced to 44 points, with only four races left in the season.
Norris clinched the victory after McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who had been leading with two laps remaining, finished second. Piastri had switched places with Norris as the race neared its end, and the VSC period, caused by Nico Hulkenberg’s car stopping on track, allowed Norris to take the lead.
When the race resumed on the final lap, the stewards determined Verstappen had violated the delta time rule. According to the ruling, Verstappen had been 0.63 seconds below the required minimum time when the VSC period ended, which gave him an unfair advantage. Verstappen acknowledged the mistake, explaining that he tried to correct it but failed before the light panels changed to green.
With the addition of this penalty point, Verstappen is now five points away from an automatic race suspension, having accumulated seven penalty points over the past year.