FIA Penalties Max Verstappen 5 Seconds for Pit Lane Infraction at GP Miami

Max Verstappen was handed a 5-second penalty after the Grand Prix Miami for crossing the pit exit line during the race on Sunday. The four-time world champion was given a warning for potentially crossing the pit exit line after making his only pit stop during the Sunday race, but stewards didn't investigate the incident until after the checkered flag had been waved. They cited this as a lack of clear video evidence to make a decision at the time. A new angle has come to light that shows Verstappen did cross the white pit exit line and breached the rules. As a result, the Red Bull driver was handed a 5-second penalty. However, the penalty didn't change the outcome for Verstappen, who stayed in fifth place after finishing just under nine seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari. George Russell was also investigated for contact with Verstappen during a battle in the final laps, but the Mercedes driver was cleared of any wrong doing. This was because all parties agreed it was a 'small racing incident'. "At the time of the incident, the available video evidence was limited to making a clear decision as to whether a breach had occurred," stewards noted in their report. "Therefore, we decided to investigate the incident after the race, to see if we could obtain better video evidence of the incident while, perhaps from another angle. "We were able to do this. New angle shows more of the pit exit line and the incident in question. The Mobil 3 driver explained that he was leaving the pit and rejoining the race under a full yellow flag. "Stewards determined that the front left tire did cross the solid white outer pit lane pit exit marking, which breaches Article L, Section 4, Paragraph 6 c) of the International Sports Code. Given the nature of the breach, Stewards chose to impose a 5-second penalty."