Max Verstappen cut short his post-race interview and refused to discuss the penalty which potentially cost him victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver was given a five-second time penalty for overtaking Oscar Piastri off the track on the first lap of the race.
The pair shared the front row of the grid, Verstappen on pole, but Piastri got away more quickly and drew ahead of his rival as they approached the first corner. While Piastri used the full width of the track at the exit, Verstappen went off and rejoined the track ahead of his rival.
“He needs to give that back,” said Piastri immediately afterwards. “I was ahead.”
Verstappen claimed Piastri “forced me off” and had “no intention of making that corner.” The McLaren driver accused his rival of the same: “He was never going to make that corner regardless of whether I was there or not.”
The stewards came down on Piastri’s side, handing Verstappen a five-second time penalty. “Well that is fucking lovely,” he remarked when told by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who urged him: “No comment.”
Verstappen was further displeased to be told his off-track excursion had been counted against him. “I thought they wouldn’t count that,” he said. “They literally said that in the briefing.”
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He was still unhappy when the race came to an end and refused to discuss the grand prix when asked for his comments for the television broadcast by David Coulthard.
“I’m going to keep it quite short,” he said. “I just want to say a big thank you to the fans here in Jeddah. It’s been a great weekend, I love the track and yeah, the rest is what it is. I’m looking forward to Miami, so I’ll see you there.”
You say
Was Verstappen’s five-second time penalty for gaining a position off the track correct? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Max Verstappen’s penalty for his first-lap incident with Oscar Piastri was:
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Slightly too lenient (67%)
Correct (33%)
Slightly too harsh (0%)
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Total Voters: 3
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