Max Verstappen served a crucial penalty that led to his loss at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He faced a five-second penalty that changed the outcome of the race and resulted in Oscar Piastri’s victory for the third time in the F1 2025 season.
Max Verstappen started from the pole but was challenged immediately by Piastri. As Verstappen gained an unfair advantage, he faced a five-second penalty that he served during his only pit stop. Despite his constant efforts to gain back the lead, he could not succeed as Oscar Piastri maintained a three-second gap throughout the race and ended up winning.
Max Verstappen On His Penalty
The decision was met with many controversial opinions, with some experts claiming it was the right thing to do, while others in support of Verstappen claimed that it was unfair. After the race, Verstappen was visibly frustrated but restrained in his comments. He repeatedly declined to elaborate on his feelings about the penalty. He said, “Luckily, the fans have a clear mind about racing, because what happened today is unbelievable. But at least the fans enjoyed it, and I gave it all today, but clearly not quick enough. But still happy with second.”
“Throughout the whole season, it has been up and down, and we had good moments, bad moments, and now we go into the final race tied on points. So basically, how we started this season, of course, my advantage in race wins, it will be exciting, and I hope, of course, we can just have a good weekend there,” he added
He was also seen talking about the increasing penalties in the F1 2025 season, responding to a journalist’s question about whether he thinks the championship could be decided by penalties rather than on-track record. He replied, “I’m just trying to race, and this sport is more about penalties than racing, so for me, this is not Formula 1.”
Christian Horner On Max Verstappen’s Penalty
Not just Max Verstappen but Team Principal of Red Bull, Christian Horner, also expressed his disappointment as he said, “We had that sort of discussion with the Race Director before the race through briefings and whatever else. We have this notion of ‘let them race’ – I don’t know where Max was supposed to go at that first corner. We’ve lost the race by [2.8] seconds, so yeah, it’s tough. I think the most positive thing for us today was the pace was there – it was a very positive race. Congrats to Oscar, but [it’s] disappointing not to get the win.”
Zak Brown On Max Verstappen’s Penalty
While many believe the penalty was unfair, McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, is in favour of the decision and he shared, “I think the penalty was appropriate – whether we should have just swapped [positions] versus the time [being given], that’s up to the stewards to decide what they feel is appropriate. It was a clean start, he controlled the race once he got in the lead, but Max kept us honest.”
Also Read: How Max Verstappen’s Penalty Led To A Big Win For Oscar Piastri
