Max Verstappen maintains P5 position despite penalty at Miami Grand Prix

Verstappen Finishes Fifth at F1 Miami Grand Prix

On Sunday, Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in fifth place at the F1 Miami Grand Prix, marking his best result of the 2026 season thus far.

But getting to that conclusion took a bit longer than expected.

Verstappen was among a handful of drivers called in to speak with race officials following a rather chaotic race. Kimi Antonelli celebrated his third consecutive Grand Prix victory. Meanwhile, Red Bull introduced various upgrades for both Verstappen and his teammate, Izak Hajar, which helped the former secure second place in qualifying ahead of the race.

However, after a promising start, Verstappen opted for an early pit stop during a safety car period. Unfortunately, footage showed him crossing the white line at the pit exit as he rejoined the track, raising eyebrows among the officials about a possible infraction.

After the race, he was handed a five-second penalty following discussions with the stewards.

The stewards’ report noted, “At the time of the incident, there was limited video evidence to definitively determine whether a breach had occurred.” They decided to investigate later, seeking clearer footage from different angles.

New footage provided a clearer view of the incident at the pit exit line.

According to the report, “The driver of car No. 3 explained that he exited the pit and rejoined the race under a full course yellow. The stewards determined that the outside of the left front tire crossed the solid white pit exit line, which is a violation of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 6.c) of the International Sporting Code.”

Given the nature of the breach, the stewards decided a five-second penalty was warranted.

Despite a tight battle on the track, both drivers finished within half a second of one another. Had the penalties stood, Verstappen would’ve dropped to sixth behind Charles Leclerc. However, Leclerc received a hefty 20-second penalty for repeatedly going off track to gain an advantage during a dramatic last lap. He even spun into a wall early on at Turn 3 but managed to continue, albeit with difficulties through several chicanes.