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F1 fans were left raging when it was informed that Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was under investigation for a restart infringement at the end of the VSC during the Sprint race on Saturday. The reigning three-time world champion showcased commendable pace during the 24-lap blast to the finish as he was able to lose just two points to his championship rival Lando Norris.
The Dutch driver started the race from P4 behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc but was able to overtake the Monagasque driver in the final few laps of the Sprint. After clearing the Ferrari, the 27-year-old was close to getting past the McLaren of Oscar Piastri with three laps to go but was unable to make the move because of the VSC.
At the end of the VSC period, Verstappen came scarily close to the back of Oscar Piastri's McLaren at Turn 4 before the light went green. FIA has taken the incident under their notice and would investigate the restart infringement after the Sprint.
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F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to Max Verstappen being investigated by the FIA on X, with one fan saying:
"It feels like the real battle this season is FIA vs. Max for the championship."
"Wait until McLaren's swap with the VSC, while a person is on the track, and when it is sure Verstappen can't overtake make it green. The greatest cheat of the year."
"Be honest, how much are McLaren paying you guys?" queried one fan.
"Timing of the VSC was questionable," pointed out a fan.
"To distract everyone from the FIA's own transgression with the VSC and the green flag. Classic move," said another.
"FIA doing everything they can to make sure the pts are close enough in Abu Dhabi," claimed another.
Red Bull team principal gives his take on Max Verstappen's investigation
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he believed that everything was "ok" regarding Max Verstappen's investigation during the Sprint.
Speaking with Sky Sports, the Brit reflected:
"On everything that we can see it looks ok, but let’s see. He was just conscious that Oscar wasn’t dropping back from Lando. Obviously, reading the race and looking at all the permutations."
Max Verstappen, on the other hand, was encouraged by his pace during the Sprint and said:
"It was quite a tricky race but I think the pace was very good because we could always follow within the DRS, and I’m quite pleased with that. It took a bit too long with Charles but when everyone is in a DRS train it’s very hard to attack.
"So I had to wait for some mistakes and luckily they came, and I could use that to my advantage. It was promising, it was good. This is race pace. Tomorrow it might rain as well, so there are a lot of unknowns, but today was good."
Max Verstappen will take a further five-place grid penalty for the main race on Sunday due to taking a new internal combustion engine for this weekend.
