Verstappen was summoned to meet with stewards for an alleged breach of Virtual Safety Car regulations late in the 24-lap Sprint.

At the time he was shadowing Oscar Piastri, who had waved through McLaren team-mate Lando Norris seconds before the race was neutralised.

As racing resumed, with the leaders at the end of the back straight, Verstappen came close to contact with the rear of Piastri’s car.

Avoiding drama there, he ultimately crossed the line third before the investigation was announced.

That subsequently found the championship leader had breached the delta time required of him under Virtual Safety Car conditions by 0.63 seconds.

As a result, he was handed a five-second penalty, dropping him to fourth behind Charles Leclerc in the classification.

“Article 56.5 states in part ‘All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green’,” the stewards noted.

“The driver was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC.

“The driver explained that as he was awaiting VSC to end and he got the notification that he was below the minimum time, he attempted to correct the error but failed to do so by the point that the panels turned green.

“This is a breach and the standard penalty is applied for the advantage gained at that time.

“The net effect of this put the driver ahead of where he was at the start of the VSC and not as a result of the car in front falling back.”

The penalty also means Verstappen scores only five championship points rather than six in the Sprint, allowing Norris to edge closer in the drivers’ title fight.

The championship battle now stands at 44 points with four grands prix (including Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP), and one Sprint, remaining.

Updated Sao Paulo GP Sprint Results