Helmut Marko on Max Verstappen’s VSC Infringement: “It’s a Matter of Milliseconds”

Luck does not seem to be in Max Verstappen’s corner at the 2024 Sao Paolo GP. First, a wrongly timed Virtual Safety Car (VSC) ended his hopes of winning the Sprint. Then, he received a five-second time penalty for seemingly speeding during the VSC conditions. According to Helmut Marko, it wasn’t bad fate; it was Verstappen being careless.

After Verstappen had to report to the stewards, Christian Horner insisted that his driver had done nothing wrong. Marko, however, swopped in soon, to suggest the officials had, in fact, something concrete to penalize Verstappen for.

“It is about too early a start during the Virtual Safety Car. It’s a matter of milliseconds,” said Marko as per F1 Maximaal.

Soon enough, it was confirmed that Verstappen was overspeeding while the VSC was deployed. He got a penalty, which demoted him from P3 to P4, which in turn handed his Championship rival Lando Norris a three-point advantage (instead of two) over the Dutchman.

The top eight in #F1Sprint following Max Verstappen’s five-second time penalty

Verstappen drops to fourth, Leclerc moves up to P3#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/4jHqOc44Kg

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2024

During a VSC, all drivers need to slow down, as did Verstappen. But, he had to keep his delta positive, which he apparently failed to do by a very small margin, according to Marko.

Not only did it result in a drop for Verstappen and dampen his efforts in the Sprint to overtake Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and get P3, but the Red Bull driver got another penalty point to his super-license. It’s now two confrontations in two weeks between Verstappen and the FIA.

Last weekend in Mexico City, Verstappen’s aggressive maneuvers against Norris, which forced him off track, earned him a 10-second time penalty. This was followed by an additional 10-second penalty for overtaking while being off the track. His shenanigans had also earned him two penalty points.