HEARTBREAKING: Verstappen facing shock DEMOTION at Brazilian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen could be facing another penalty, following an investigation from the FIA after the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race.

The Dutchman is already facing a five-place grid drop for Sunday’s main race in Interlagos, due to using a new internal combustion engine (ICE), which could seriously harm his drivers’ championship chances.

Verstappen managed to claim third place in Saturday’s sprint race in Brazil, limiting the damage done to his now 45-point gap to second-place Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings.

Norris claimed victory in the first race of the weekend, being let through by McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri just a few laps from the end as papaya team orders came into play once again.

Verstappen under FIA investigation

Piastri had suggested before the sprint race that he would let Norris through having started on pole, but the team almost missed their chance to swap the two drivers, as Nico Hulkenberg’s shock retirement caused a virtual safety car.

While Norris sneaked through just before the virtual safety car conditions, Verstappen was left ruing what might have been, having seemingly had better pace than the two McLarens at the end of the race.

As the virtual safety car conditions were coming to an end, Verstappen found himself in Piastri’s slipstream, but had to wait until the green flag to overtake, forcing him to tuck in behind the Australian.

However, drivers must stick to a delta during the virtual safety car, where they have to maintain the gaps between each other despite going 30-40% slower than they would be going under normal race conditions.

Verstappen is now under investigation from the FIA for breaching those delta conditions, with a decision expected before Saturday qualifying.

If penalised, Verstappen would likely face a five-second penalty, demoting him behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and losing an extra point in the championship battle.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports after the sprint race: “On everything that we can see it looks okay, but let’s see [what the stewards say].”