Max Verstappen retains P5 regardless of penalty at Miami Grand Prix – Foxton News

Max Verstappen took the checkered flag in fifth place at Sunday’s System 1 Miami Grand Prix, for one of the best Grand Prix end of his 2026 season up to now.

However he wanted to attend a bit of longer for affirmation of that end result.

Verstappen was one in all a number of drivers summoned to fulfill with race officers following a chaotic Miami Grand Prix, which noticed Kimi Antonelli safe his third consecutive Grand Prix victory. Pink Bull introduced a sequence of upgrades to the observe for Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar, which helped the four-time Drivers’ Champion safe P2 in qualifying for Sunday’s primary occasion.

However after a frenetic begin, Verstappen pitted early below a Security Automotive, however race officers famous a possible incident along with his cease as replays confirmed the motive force crossing the white line separating the pit exit and the observe when he rejoined the struggle.

Following the race, and a gathering with the stewards, Verstappen was given a five-second penalty.

“When the incident occurred, there was restricted video proof to make a transparent choice on whether or not an infringement had occurred,” learn the stewards’ report, which you’ll learn right here at Doc 99.

“We subsequently determined to analyze the incident after the race, to see if we may get higher video proof of the incident within the meantime, maybe from different angles. We have been in a position to take action.

“The brand new angles did present extra views of the pit exit line and the incident in query.

“The driving force of Automotive 3 defined that he was driving out of the pit exit and rejoined the race below full course yellow. The stewards decided that the skin of the entrance left-hand tyre did cross the skin of the strong white pit exit line in violation of Appendix L, Chapter IV Article 6 c) of the Worldwide Sporting Code.

“Given the character of the infraction, the stewards elected to impose a penalty of 5 seconds.”

Standing alone, the penalty would have dropped Verstappen to sixth behind Charles Leclerc, as the 2 drivers completed inside a half-second of one another following a tricky battle on the observe. However Leclerc was hit with a major 20-second penalty for a violation of his personal, as he was adjudged by the stewards to have left the observe a number of instances to achieve a bonus in the course of the dramatic closing lap. Leclerc spun early at Flip 3 and hit the wall, after which he continued on however reduce by a number of chicanes on his method to the checkered flag.

The penalty dropped Leclerc to eighth.

With Verstappen’s fifth-place end official, the Pink Bull driver now sits seventh within the Drivers’ Championship standings, having picked up two positions within the desk.