Max Verstappen thought he had taken the last podium place at Austin. A late penalty changed the result after he had entered the cooldown room. Kimi Räikkönen got the trophy instead.
At the 2017 United States Grand Prix, a daring final-lap pass briefly put Max Verstappen on the podium. The 19-year-old had charged from 16th on the grid, but the move that won him third place also sent all four wheels beyond the track limits.
The F1 stewards ruled that Verstappen had gained a lasting advantage and imposed a five-second post-race penalty. The decision arrived so late that officials pulled him from the cooldown room before the podium ceremony, turning a moment of celebration into one of Formula 1’s most uncomfortable scenes.
Max Verstappen’s last-lap pass at the 2017 United States Grand Prix
Verstappen started from P16 after a grid penalty for exceeding his power-unit component allocation. Strong pace and a well-judged strategy brought him through the field, putting Räikkönen within reach as the race entered its closing stages.
On lap 56, the final tour, Verstappen attacked at Turn 17. He dived down the inside and crossed the line in third, but his four wheels had run beyond the white track-limit line. The pass looked decisive; its legality was always going to face scrutiny.
Why the F1 stewards revoked Verstappen’s podium
The stewards judged that Verstappen had left the circuit and gained a lasting advantage over Räikkönen. Their five-second penalty altered the official race results, dropping the Dutchman to fourth and restoring Räikkönen to third.
This was a post-race penalty, not a race disqualification: the result changed through the time added to Verstappen’s finish. But the timing made the ruling especially stark. Verstappen had already reached the cooldown room, the waiting area for the top three, when staff asked him to leave so Räikkönen could take his place.
The scene echoed the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix, where Verstappen also lost a podium after a post-race decision and finished fourth behind Daniel Ricciardo. For more on the wider story around Red Bull’s form, read LAS Motorsport’s report on Verstappen and Red Bull’s comeback.
Hamilton wins as Mercedes seals another constructors’ crown
Lewis Hamilton won from pole after briefly losing the lead to Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap. He reclaimed control and secured his ninth victory of the season; Vettel finished second, Räikkönen third and Verstappen fourth.
Valtteri Bottas finished fifth, enough to help Mercedes clinch its fourth consecutive constructors’ championship. The result was a sharp reminder that Formula 1’s celebrations do not settle the classification: the stewards’ ruling reshaped the podium moments before the ceremony, and Verstappen’s daring move became a lasting motorsport talking point.
Verstappen’s career has since added many chapters, including fierce battles with Lando Norris; LAS Motorsport covered Norris’s challenge to Verstappen’s claim. Austin’s 2017 finish remains a vivid snapshot of the fine line between audacious overtaking and a revoked podium.
