During the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, former Aston Martin strategist and current F1 pundit Bernie Collins raised concerns over the FIA stewards’ decision to issue only a five-second penalty to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. The penalty was handed out after Verstappen left the track and gained an advantage on the opening lap of the race.
Verstappen had started from pole position but was challenged off the line by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. As they went into Turn 1 side by side, Piastri managed to get fully alongside Verstappen. However, Verstappen, in a bid to stay ahead, ran off track at the chicane and rejoined in front of the McLaren. Despite gaining a clear advantage, Red Bull opted not to return the position, believing Verstappen was entitled to space and tried to build a five-second gap instead.
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Although some have debated the fairness of the penalty, Collins, speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, said the punishment was appropriate in terms of assigning blame to the right driver. However, she questioned whether the five-second time penalty was sufficient. She noted that the stewards likely reduced the severity of the penalty because it occurred on the first lap, a phase of the race often treated more leniently. Collins pointed out that in cases where a driver is fast enough to pull away, such a penalty might not actually negate the gained advantage and suggested that giving back the position would have been a more balanced consequence.
She reflected on similar past situations from her time at Force India, where overtaking off-track and receiving a time penalty often ended up being more advantageous than giving up the position.
Max Verstappen was visibly frustrated during the race but chose not to address the issue in detail during his post-race interviews.
F1 commentator and former driver Martin Brundle also shared his opinion on the matter. He said Verstappen was “clever” and used his experience to “game the system.” According to Brundle, the rule has always been clear—if a driver gains an advantage by leaving the track, they must give up the position. He added that it’s usually smarter to return the place rather than risk a time penalty. While Verstappen tried to make the penalty work in his favor, Brundle noted that this time it didn’t pay off.
Despite the incident, Verstappen managed to close the gap to Lando Norris in second place and now trails by just two points. Meanwhile, Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri, currently leads the championship by twelve points.