Max Verstappen is being investigated for a possible violation of the virtual safety car during the Formula 1 sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The championship leader had seemingly minimized the damage to nearest pursuer Lando Norris, who was waved past by McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to take victory.

However, with Verstappen finishing third, the Red Bull driver had only lost two points to Norris.

But he is now under surveillance after a virtual safety car was deployed at the end of the 24-lap sprint race when Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas pulled over on the side of the road.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner subsequently told Sky Sports F1 that he “didn’t see anything wrong” with Verstappen’s driving.

The Dutchman already has a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Brazilian GP for changing his engine outside of his quota before the weekend.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen leads the title race by 45 points and is looking to defend his championship title, although Red Bull is currently overtaken by both McLaren and Ferrari.

After qualifying fourth for the sprint, Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc and finished behind the two McLarens, which swapped places to support Norris’ title ambitions.

The summons from the FIA ​​stewards stated that Verstappen was being investigated because he had not complied with the minimum time required in the VSC:

“56.5 – All competing vehicles must reduce their speed and remain above the minimum time set by the FIA ​​ECU at least once in each maneuvering sector and at both the first and second safety car lines (a maneuvering sector is the section of the track in between). the FIA ​​light panels).”