max verstappen loses his wold champion as he .... Read more

Max Verstappen has been handed a five-second time penalty by the race stewards after an investigation into his actions during the virtual safety car period at the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race. The penalty was issued due to an alleged violation of the virtual safety car rules, specifically for driving too quickly as he prepared to attempt an overtaking maneuver on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

The incident occurred while Verstappen was closely following Piastri during the virtual safety car phase, which is a period in the race where drivers are required to slow down to a set target lap time and sector times. The purpose of the virtual safety car is to maintain a controlled speed on track during certain situations, such as when there is an incident or debris on the track, without the need for full deployment of the safety car. Drivers must adhere strictly to the predetermined limits displayed on their steering wheel dashboard and must not exceed these times under any circumstances.

Verstappen, who was running in third position at the time, was in close proximity to Piastri and appeared to be preparing to make a move for the position once the virtual safety car period ended. According to the Dutch driver, he suspected that Piastri might be intentionally slowing down to help his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, who was behind them. As the virtual safety car period came to a close, Verstappen made a near-overtake on Piastri but then eased off the throttle slightly, a move that was not cited as the reason for the stewards’ investigation.

While the maneuver itself did not seem to have violated any overtaking rules,