Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has been hit with a five-second time penalty following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint race, dropping him to fourth in the classification behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen beat Leclerc to third after some fierce battling across the 24-lap encounter, and then had his sights set on McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris until a late Virtual Safety Car scuppered those efforts.

After Nico Hulkenberg’s stricken Haas was cleared away, the track went green again, but Verstappen had just under a lap to try and make a move on Piastri – who had given the lead to title-contending team mate Norris – and could not quite do so.

Then, after the race, Verstappen was noted for a potential rule breach under the VSC conditions, related to staying above the minimum time set out by the FIA, with the stewards deciding that he should be penalised.

After their investigation, the stewarding panel handed Verstappen a five-second penalty, meaning he drops to fourth, behind Leclerc, and loses another point to title rival Norris – the Dutchman now leading by 44 points. He was also handed a penalty point on his racing licence, taking him to seven points in the current 12-month period.

In their decision document, the stewards explained: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, timing, telemetry evidence.

“Article 56.5 states in part ‘All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green.’ The driver was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC.

“The driver explained that as he was awaiting VSC to end and he got the notification that he was below the minimum time, he attempted to correct the error but failed to do so by the point that the panels turned green.

“This is a breach and the standard penalty is applied for the advantage gained at that time. The net effect of this put the driver ahead of where he was at the start of the VSC and not as a result of the car in front falling back.”

The penalty means Verstappen, despite an otherwise strong performance, is now 44 points behind Norris in the championship standings. The Sprint win for Norris has moved him closer to claiming his maiden F1 title. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix will take place on Sunday, where Verstappen will aim for a strong recovery to consolidate his championship lead.