Max Verstappen penalised following a five-second penalty for crossing the pit exit
- Caitlyn Gordon
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Following the conclusion of the Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen received a penalty after breaching the pit exit.
Max Verstappen gambled to pit early after an early safety car was brought out following two separate incidents involving Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar. But, when he rejoined the action, Verstappen crossed the white line. The incident was noted by the stewards to be investigated after the conclusion of the race.
Following the pit stop, the Dutchman fought his way up from 16th, with Verstappen at one point on course for a podium. But, his tyres began degrading which hindered his ability to defend against quicker drivers Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc and George Russell. However, a significant blunder from Leclerc on the last lap meant Verstappen swept past and claimed fifth.
Verstappen receives post-race penalty
In the aftermath of the race, the stewards announced Verstappen would be penalised for the incident. In their reasonings the stewards stated:
“When the incident occurred, there was limited video evidence to make a clear decision on whether an infringement had occurred,” read the stewards’ report.
“We therefore decided to investigate the incident after the race, to see if we could get better video evidence of the incident in the meantime, perhaps from other angles. We were able to do so.
“The new angles did show more views of the pit exit line and the incident in question.
“The driver of Car 3 explained that he was driving out of the pit exit and rejoined the race under full course yellow. The stewards determined that the outside of the front left-hand tyre did cross the outside of the solid white pit exit line in violation of Appendix L, Chapter IV Article 6 c) of the International Sporting Code.
“Given the nature of the infraction, the stewards elected to impose a penalty of five seconds.”
The penalty luckily keeps his fifth place finish, after Charles Leclerc received a post-race drive through penalty, dropping him down to eighth.
Max Verstappen provides his thoughts on the race
During the first lap, Verstappen had an excellent launch off the line in P2. Though, when he headed into Turn 2, a rare mistake from the Red Bull driver saw him complete a spectacular 360, which he expertly gained quick control of, narrowly avoiding a dangerous collision.
“It was quite hectic,” Verstappen said as he recalled the first lap.
“I lost the rear into Turn 2, and then of course I tried to minimise the time loss by doing the 360.
"I thought I was going to crash, so I floored it, and I managed to do a good 360, so yeah, if Formula 1 doesn't work out, I can always go rallying,” he joked.
Explaining the moment from inside the cockpit Verstappen said:
"I pushed into the corner, and just lost something, the rear just started to slide, and once it goes with the heavy fuel, it is hard to catch.
After the early gamble on Lap 7, Verstappen continued the remainder of the race running a 51 lap stint on the Hard compound, which he noted was “too long”:
"After that, the pace was not too bad on the medium, but as soon as I swapped to the hard compound, it was just a lot more difficult, and now, after the race, it is easy to say, of course, but I think that stint was just a bit too long."
Despite the chaotic race, Verstappen praised the work the Red Bull team had done during the month interval, with the Dutchman stating he was more comfortable in the car:
“A few things have changed, and it made it a lot more comfortable to drive,” Verstappen said to Autoweek.
“Over those last few weeks the team has been pushing flat out to try and bring upgrades to the car and making me feel more comfortable with a lot of things in the car, and it really pays off.
Verstappen was voted as Driver of the Day, after his recovery drive from P16 to P5.
The next round in the 2026 campaign will take place at the Circuit Giles Villeneuve from May 22-24.
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