According to commentator and former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle, Max Verstappen ‘gambled and lost’ during the opening laps of the Saudi Arabian GP. The Dutchman received a five-second time penalty for overtaking off the track, purely because the Australian was a nose length ahead at that moment. According to Brundle, Verstappen often manages to bend the rules to his advantage, but in this case, he was outmaneuvered by his McLaren rival.
Oscar Piastri started from the second grid spot, behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen. The latter had a less than ideal start, allowing Oscar Piastri to attempt to overtake his rival in the first corner. Verstappen cut the first corner to maintain his position relative to Piastri. However, the stewards ruled that Verstappen had gained an unfair advantage, especially since Piastri’s McLaren was slightly ahead in the corner at that moment.
After the reigning world champion served his penalty during his first pit stop, he was overtaken on the track by the young Australian. Piastri managed to maintain the lead and thus secured his third victory of the season – more than all other drivers, namely Norris and Verstappen, combined. According to Martin Brundle, Verstappen often comes out on top when it comes to the rules, but in this case, he had to acknowledge his defeat.
‘Penalty was even reduced’
“No one gambles on the regulations as well as Max Verstappen, but for the first time he gambled and lost,” wrote Brundle in his column for Sky Sports. “Sometimes you can view incidents from different perspectives, but in this case, he (Verstappen) simply accelerated over the runoff area, gaining an unfair advantage. I and many others had no doubt about that. The stewards gave him a five-second penalty, which was already a reduction from a ten-second penalty. After all, it was the opening round and a fairly tight battle.”
“Verstappen would eventually lose the race by 2.8 seconds,” Brundle continued. “He might have won if the team had simply told him right away that he had to give back his position. On the other hand, he was leading in clean air in the initial phase, which benefited his tires, brakes, and engine.” Verstappen seemed to be pulling away from Oscar Piastri at one point. “So maybe it was worth it to just take those five seconds,” Brundle speculated.
‘What if there had been a wall?’
Finally, the Brit criticized the reaction of Red Bull and team boss Christian Horner. He understood that the team wanted to protect Verstappen, but in this case, the Dutchman would have always lost. “If there had been a wall, a guardrail, or a gravel trap on the outside of the first turn, Verstappen would have always conceded and lined up behind Piastri,” Brundle explained. “After the race, he and Christian Horner were still furious about the time penalty, but they simply made a miscalculation here.”
