Max Verstappen at risk of ANOTHER penalty as F1 stewards investigate him at Brazilian GP

Max Verstappen was hunting down Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris towards the end of the Brazil Sprint race and may have crossed a line as he hunted down the McLarens ahead

Max Verstappen is under investigation accused of breaking virtual safety car rules towards the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint race.

The Dutchman already has a five-place grid penalty for the main Grand Prix on Sunday after he was forced to add another engine to his pool for the season. And another punishment may be headed his way.

The stewards are looking into how he approached the ending of a Virtual Safety Car period at the climax of the Sprint on Saturday. He was on the back of Oscar Piastri, who had shortly before moved aside to allow team-mate Lando Norris to take the lead.

Desperate to get past at least one of the McLarens if he could, Verstappen brought himself as close as possible to the back of Piastri's machine at the message came through on the final lap that the Virtual Safety Car period was ending.

When yellow flags are waving, though, no overtaking is allowed and it is also not permitted for cars to pull alongside another either until racing resumes. Drivers must also adhere to a 'delta' lap time during a VSC period and, if they are found to have gone faster than that time, that too is an infringement.

The FIA has not said what exactly Verstappen is accused of, other than a breach of VSC rules. But it has been confirmed that the stewards will look into the case, placing the triple F1 champion at risk of a penalty.

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