Stunned Max Verstappen yanked from F1 cooldown room as podium revoked

Nine years ago, the Circuit of the Americas delivered one of the most dramatic finishes of Max Verstappen's early career.

At the 2017 United States Grand Prix, the Dutchman, then just 19, appeared to have pulled off a stunning last-lap move to claim third place. The celebrations lasted only a few minutes.

Verstappen had started that race from P16 on the grid after picking up a grid penalty for exceeding his allocation of power unit components.

A sharp strategy and strong race pace helped him carve through the field, and by the closing stages he had Kimi Räikkönen in his sights in the battle for the final podium spot.

On the 56th and final lap, Verstappen pounced at Turn 17. He dived down the inside of the Finn, running all four wheels wide of the white line at the edge of the circuit.

The move handed him third place across the line, a piece of overtaking that briefly had the paddock buzzing, though it was always likely to draw scrutiny given where it had happened.

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Penalty strikes

The stewards, as it turned out, took a dim view of the move. They ruled that Verstappen had gained a lasting advantage over Räikkönen by leaving the track, and handed him a five-second time penalty.

The complication was timing. The penalty was only confirmed after Verstappen had already made his way to the podium area.

He had been taken to the cooldown room, the space reserved for the top three finishers ahead of the trophy presentation, when the penalty was applied to his race time. It dropped him from third to fourth in the official classification, behind Räikkönen.

What followed was an awkward scene played out in front of the cameras: Verstappen was pulled out of the cooldown room on the spot to make way for Räikkönen, who was handed his podium place moments before the ceremony got underway.

It was not the first time Verstappen had been removed from the cooldown room in such circumstances. A year earlier, at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix, the same thing had happened, with the then-teenager demoted after the fact to fourth place behind Daniel Ricciardo following a clash with Sebastian Vettel.

Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 race from pole position, controlling much of the Grand Prix after briefly losing the lead to Vettel on the opening lap before reclaiming it and cruising to his ninth win of that season.

Vettel finished second for Ferrari, with Räikkönen ultimately classified third and Verstappen fourth. Hamilton's victory, combined with Valtteri Bottas finishing fifth, was enough to seal Mercedes' fourth consecutive constructors' championship.