After every Formula 1 race, driver Jeroen Bleekemolen shares his observations in an exclusive column for Formule1.nl. Who or what stood out to him, what went well, and what needs to change? This time, it’s about the Saudi Arabian GP: discussing Max Verstappen‘s penalty and how he would have done the same as Oscar Piastri.
Pushing the boundaries: that’s what Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri did with their clash in the first corner on Sunday evening in Saudi Arabia. And pushing the boundaries is perhaps what I’m doing now with my opinion on this. But it is what it is: Max may not have agreed with the penalty, but I can quite understand why it was given.
Max went straight on and couldn’t go anywhere else, I get that. And I understand that he doesn’t agree with the penalty. But he did gain an advantage from the situation, and then you know they can give a penalty. Should it matter that it happened in the first corner of the first lap? No. Because it was decisive and then you have to do something with it, even if it’s ‘just’ the first lap.
Piastri held his ground, made himself wide; yes, that’s true and he can do that. But let’s be honest: Max would have done exactly the same in Piastri’s position. And rightly so. The problem isn’t with Piastri, but starts with Max’s start. It wasn’t good enough, although Piastri also got off to a very quick start. But if Max had a better start, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation and there wouldn’t have been a penalty.
The fact that he eventually finished second is quite an achievement. McLaren has the faster car; how Max then put that Red Bull on pole again on Saturday – just like in Japan – is amazing, incredibly good.
But in the meantime, Piastri is leading in the World Championship. And I expect Max to have a very tough opponent in the Australian. Piastri is the man on pole for the title, you can say that now. Max doesn’t give up and does everything he can, that’s clear. But if that McLaren continues to be so much better than the Red Bull, he will ultimately be helpless against Piastri.
And Lando Norris? No. He makes mistakes, like in the qualification. He’s mentally exhausted.
Being exhausted, but physically, was true for many drivers afterwards. It just goes to show how gruelling the race in Jeddah is, on such a high-speed circuit with dangerous corners and in warm conditions. Most drivers were worn out, you could also see how much Max had physically given. As a driver, I know they will all have muscle pain tomorrow. But it’s also the best feeling there is, that feeling of having really raced.
And they did in Jeddah. On to Miami, where Red Bull, I think – unfortunately for Max – will have a much tougher time with the circuit…
