Heavy penalty for Red Bull Racing! This victory is still being taken away!

14:00, 09 Aug 2025
1 Comments
Co-author:Samson Ero
Red Bull Racing's sim team has been stripped of a key victory after Dutch world champion Jarno Opmeer received a time penalty days after the race. The penalty demoted him from first to fourth place.
In a classic Red Bull fashion, Opmeer had initially taken advantage of a quirk in the PGSL championship regulations. Running in third place on the final lap of the virtual race, he opted to dive into the pit lane, where the finish line was positioned earlier than on the main track. This clever move allowed him to cross the line ahead of his rivals — at least until the penalty was applied.

Controversy among competitors

Opmeer’s win sparked widespread reaction from fellow drivers and race officials. While the maneuver did not explicitly breach the regulations, the stewards were unimpressed. They have now ruled that Opmeer’s actions amounted to ‘behaviour on the circuit contrary to the principles of fair competitions or sportsmanship,' also deeming it a violation of the race code.
Opmeer, however, has expressed confusion over the decision. “Only championship in the world where you can get penalised for something not stated in the rules 👍,” he posted on X.
ADVERTISEMENT

You can watch Opmeer's move here

loading
Japanese Grand Prix
Overview
Upcoming race
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
Fri 02:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
Sat 02:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
Sun 05:00 AM

Loading