Report: F1 stewards issue statement as Max Verstappen penalty changes outcome of Saudi GP.
A five-second time penalty for Max Verstappen proved pivotal in the outcome of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, paving the way for Oscar Piastri to claim victory over the Dutch driver.
Formula 1 stewards have detailed the reasoning behind their decision to penalize Verstappen following a clash with Piastri at the opening corner of the race.
Verstappen was on pole but his McLaren rival got the better start and moved alongside heading into turn one. Piastri had the inside line and didn’t give an inch of room more than he needed to, while the Red Bull racer cut the second corner of the chicane.
Both drivers blamed each other over the radio but the stewards sided with Piastri and handed Verstappen the penalty after deeming his defensive actions illegal. In the official FIA decision document, they explained why that punishment had been given.
The stewards wrote: “We determined that car 81 [Piastri] had its front axle at least alongside the mirror of car 1 [Verstappen] prior to and at the apex of corner one when trying to overtake car 1 on the inside. In fact, car 81 was alongside Car 1 at the apex.
According to the Driver’s Standards Guidelines, the corner belonged to car 81, meaning he was entitled to space. Car 1 then went off the track, gained a lasting advantage by staying ahead of car 81, and didn’t relinquish the position. He tried to capitalize on that advantage.
Typically, the standard penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds. However, since this incident occurred on the first lap and at the first corner, that context was taken into account, and the stewards issued a reduced five-second penalty.
Verstappen ultimately finished the race less than three seconds behind Piastri, who claimed his third victory of the season. Clearly frustrated, Verstappen avoided speaking much about the penalty in his initial post-race interview with David Coulthard, saying he’d “keep it quite short,” before thanking the fans and walking away.
He maintained that stance in later interviews, telling Sky Sports: “Honestly, I think commenting on it is pointless.” He also mentioned he had “no interest” in appealing the ruling and just wanted to focus on going home.
Team principal Christian Horner also disagreed with the stewards’ call, questioning, “Where was he supposed to go?” in an interview with Sky. Later, during a media session with print journalists, he presented onboard footage screenshots that he believed showed Verstappen was ahead at the corner’s apex.
Pointing to the images, Horner said: “I thought the decision was extremely harsh. We didn’t give the position back because we believed Max did nothing wrong. The footage clearly shows Max was ahead at the apex. This was all discussed in the rules of engagement. It was a tough call.”
He added that they had been in a strong position and, without the five-second penalty, Verstappen—who finished just 2.6 seconds behind Piastri—would likely have won. “There will always be different views on tight calls like this,” Horner concluded.
