Max Verstappen seemingly accepted his fate immediately after his second-place finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He was handed a time penalty at the start of the race, which eventual winner Oscar Piastri took full advantage of. At the finish line, the margin was just under three seconds in favor of the Australian. However, it became clear afterwards that Verstappen was not pleased with the imposed penalty.
“I gave it my all. It is what it is,” he initially said over the team radio during the cool-down lap. But moments later, in an interview with David Coulthard on the grid in Jeddah, Verstappen made it clear that the time penalty at the start had indeed bothered him. He didn’t want to discuss it. “I’ll keep it short. It’s been a good weekend and for the rest, it is what it is. I’m looking forward to the next race in Miami.”
