Breaking: Red Bull seek FIA discussions after ‘very harsh’ Verstappen penalty i…read more
Red Bull to Challenge “Very Harsh” Verstappen Penalty After Saudi GP Incident
Red Bull Racing is planning to initiate discussions with the FIA following what they consider an excessively severe penalty handed to Max Verstappen during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The team is set to present onboard footage of Verstappen’s race start to the stewards as part of their case to contest the decision.
Starting from pole at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Verstappen lost the lead to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri off the line. As both drivers approached Turn 1, Verstappen attempted to hold his position around the outside. However, he ran out of space and was forced to cut through the escape road to avoid contact. Despite rejoining the track ahead of Piastri and retaining the lead, the stewards determined that he had gained a lasting advantage off-track and handed him a five-second time penalty.
Verstappen voiced his frustration on team radio, claiming he was pushed wide and had no room to maneuver. Piastri, on the other hand, argued that Verstappen entered the corner with no intention of making it cleanly. Despite the differing opinions, the penalty was enforced and served during Verstappen’s pit stop after a strong opening stint in which he had pulled away from Piastri.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was visibly unhappy with the decision and described it as “very harsh.” He pointed to onboard images from Verstappen’s car that showed his left-front wheel slightly ahead of Piastri’s right-front wheel at the turn-in point for Turn 1. According to Horner, this evidence supports the argument that Verstappen was entitled to the racing line and did not intentionally cut the corner to gain an advantage.
“We didn’t concede the position because we firmly believed Max had done nothing wrong,” Horner stated to the media after the race. “At the apex, Max was clearly ahead. The rules of engagement had been discussed previously, and by those standards, we felt the penalty was unjustified.”
Horner explained that the team weighed the risk of giving the position back to Piastri but decided against it. “If we’d handed the place back, we’d have been in dirty air and vulnerable to an attack from George Russell. At that point, once the penalty was confirmed, the best course was to push on and minimize the damage.”
After serving the penalty, Verstappen rejoined the race behind Piastri but managed to close the gap again by the chequered flag, finishing just 2.6 seconds behind the McLaren driver. Despite the setback, Red Bull took positives from their strong performance in the first stint, noting that their pace on medium tires was clearly superior to the rest of the field.
Horner concluded by reiterating that the incident and resulting penalty cost them a potential win. Red Bull intends to discuss the matter further with the FIA to seek clarity and, possibly, adjustments in how such rulings are made in the future.
