After the Saudi penalty, Max Verstappen slams F1 for not being allowed to express his opinions
Max Verstappen reserved his reaction to the five-second penalty he endured during the Saudi Arabian GP on Sunday. The reighning champion expressed feeling restricted to openly criticize the FIA, hinting at a deeper frustration over F1's limitation on speech.
Verstappen began his race at Jeddah on pole, but quickly lost ground to a rapid Oscar Piastri. As the two drivers entered turn 1 side by side, Verstappen aborted his line on the outside and took the run-off area to rejoin the track in the lead.
Consequently, Verstappen was hit with a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. He served the penalty during his pitstop, allowing Piastri to emerge as the race leader. This allowed the Australian driver to pull away in clean air and record a 2.8 second victory over Verstappen.
During a post-race interview, Verstappen held back on his response to the incident, stating,
"It's better we don't talk about it, because we are anyway not allowed to express our opinion on that," Max Verstappen said.
Max Verstappen was previously penalized for swearing in a press conference during last year's Singapore GP. The Dutch driver was ordered to complete a 'work of public interest', which he served in Rwanda before the FIA's prize giving ceremony in Kigali.
Since then, the four-time world champion has reighed in his remarks as a silent protest against the governing body.
Christian Horner questions FIA's 'marginal call' over Max Verstappen penalty
Christian Horner revealed his talks with the FIA stewards over Max Verstappen's penalty at the Saudi Arabian GP. The Red Bull boss shared that he intends to present the the onboard footage that wasn't available during the opening lap debacle, but acknowledged that an appeal for the penalty was unlikely.
Speaking to Sportskeeda post-race, Horner shared his plan of action with the stewards.
“Okay I mean everything has to be objectively looked at in isolation and that's a really marginal call. I think the stewards obviously we spoke to them after the race they think it was a slam dunk. So the problem is if we're to protest it and they're gonna most likely hold the line. We'll ask them to have a look at the on -board footage that wasn’t available at the time. But yeah, I think that's what it is,” he said.
When asked if the Austrian team would appeal the decision, he said,
“I think again, we'll have a discussion. We'll put this in front of them first, but I think again, we'll have a discussion. We'll put this in front of them first, but I think it's probably unlikely.”
Losing out on the top step pushed Max Verstappen down to third in the driver's standings. He closely trails Lando Norris by two points while the new championship leader Oscar Piastri sits comfortably with 99 points.