Official: 5 second penalty – irrelevant – to Verstappen for not respecting the pit exit line

The Commissioners’ decision “He believes he can do what he wants only because he is now fighting in the middle of the group.” Carlos Sainz was not gentle on the radio towards Max Verstappen in the opening stages of the Miami GP in which the Red Bull driver found himself in the belly of the group after the 360° at the start. Max Verstappen received a five-second penalty at the end of the race, but the penalty was not related to an overtaking or defending manoeuvre. The four-time world champion, in fact, was penalized for not respecting the white line when exiting the pits when he stopped under the Safety Car to switch to hard tyres. The penalty had no impact on Verstappen’s placing. The Red Bull driver, in fact, retained fifth place behind George Russell and ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Stewards decided not to take action for the contact between Verstappen and Russell in Turn-1, an episode in which Russell damaged the front wing.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-04 15:30:00