New FIA document reveals Max Verstappen should have received different penalty at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
An official document from Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has explained why Max Verstappen escaped a harsher penalty.
On Sunday, Verstappen started on pole for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which took place around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
However, the Dutchman’s chances of winning the race went up in smoke after he was handed a 5-second penalty for a first-lap incident involving McLaren star Oscar Piastri.
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As they approached the corner, the Red Bull driver had to go wide and off the track before rejoining the action in first place.
After being investigated by the stewards, Verstappen was handed a penalty for ‘leaving the track and gaining an advantage’.
Piastri went on to win the race ahead of the Dutchman and Ferrari star Charles Leclerc.
After the race, Verstappen was visibly unimpressed and he ‘refused’ to take part in the podium champagne celebrations before Red Bull boss Christian Horner brought onboard footage to dispute the penalty.
However, as per the official document from the FIA, things could have been worse for Verstappen.
The document stated that the normal punishment for leaving the track to gain an advantage would be a 10-second penalty.
But, the FIA explained: “Ordinarily, the baseline penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds.
“However, given that this was lap one and turn one incident, we considered that to be a mitigating circumstance and imposed a 5-second time penalty instead.”
Luckily for Verstappen, he will not get an extra penalty point on his license for his tussle with Piastri.
Notwithstanding his actions Verstappen will not receive any new points on his driving license according to Dutch Formula 1 journalist Erik van Haren. Social media journalist Erik van Haren explained that Verstappen avoided getting license points because the situation did not meet dangerous incident criteria although he picked up an advantage while being on track.
Since Verstappen already reached eight points in his record the first point will be cleared from his record when June ends.
The F1 racing event Miami Grand Prix will begin next month on May 4.
