Explained: Why Max Verstappen was not given penalty points for his 5-second penalty with Oscar Piastri during the F1 Saudi Arabian GP
Max Verstappen was given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage on turn 1 of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. That penalty ultimately made the difference as Oscar Piastri won the race while Verstappen settled for P2.
The 2025 Saudi Arabian GP turned controversial on turn 1 with an incident involving Verstappen and Piastri. The Red Bull driver started the race from pole, but on turn 1, he found the McLaren racer alongside him at the apex.
Verstappen didn't make a clean turn as he went off the track to cut the corner and rejoined the track still in the lead. He refused to give the position back to Piastri, citing the latter forced him off.
However, FIA stewards believed otherwise. Stewards ruled that Oscar Piastri was side by side with Verstappen at the apex of turn 1 and the corner belonged to him. Not only should the Dutch driver have left the McLaren driver room, but also should have given the position back. A failure to do so resulted in a five-second penalty, which Verstappen served in the pit lane during his first pit stop.
That being said, Max Verstappen avoided getting a penalty point for his actions in Jeddah. It's because his violation was not dangerous. As the FIA explained, leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage would normally result in a 10-second time penalty, but Verstappen's punishment was reduced since the incident happened on turn 1.
Moreover, Verstappen's action was not deemed dangerous in nature, as he followed race directives and didn't induce any collisions. Hence, the FIA let him off the hook and didn't add any penalty points to his super license.
Interestingly, the four-time world champion already has eight penalty points on his super license. An accumulation of a total of 12 points over a period of 12 months could get him a race ban.
Max Verstappen takes a dig at FIA guidelines for drivers' conduct
Earlier this year, the FIA released new guidelines that ban all drivers from swearing and speaking anything in the media that could damage the image of the FIA. Penalties for violations include monetary fines, race bans and deduction in championship points.
Meanwhile, after the penalty incident in the 2025 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Max Verstappen refused to share his opinion with the media, fearing a penalty over the FIA's guidelines.
“The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalized. So it’s better not to speak about it. You can’t fully share your opinion because it’s not appreciated, apparently, or people can’t handle the full truth," he told reporters (via CNN Sports).
Last season, Max Verstappen was found guilty of swearing at a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix. As punishment, he did community service in Rwanda ahead of the 2024 FIA awards ceremony.