The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix didn’t wait long for its first controversial incident. As the lights went out, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri battled into the first corner, with the Aussie coming out on top. Verstappen retook the lead after passing Piastri off the track. Verstappen didn’t give the position back, leading to the stewards handing the Dutchman a five-second penalty.
This ultimately cost Verstappen the race win as Piastri undercut the Red Bull driver and looked in control to the finish. Verstappen was unhappy about the decision and refused to comment on it after the race.
Max Verstappen refuses to talk about the first lap incident
Max Verstappen passed Oscar Piastri off the track after losing the lead into the first corner. He didn’t give the position back after saying on team radio that the four-time world champion had nowhere to go. Verstappen was angered by the penalty and had little to say on the incident after the race.
After being asked whether the turn 1 incident impacted his ability to win the race, Verstappen said: “Yeah, potentially. Yeah, that is what it is. I think it’s also better we don’t talk about it, because we are anyway not allowed to express our opinions on that, so…”
Later on in the race, Liam Lawson also received a penalty for the same incident with Jack Doohan. They believed both Lawson and Verstappen could have broken earlier to make sure they stayed on track. The penalty cost Verstappen the win. He could have handed the position back and not let the stewards get involved. This mistake could have repercussions further down the line.
Zak Brown weighs in on the first corner incident
McLaren team boss Zak Brown has defended the penalty decision as Oscar Piastri won his in Saudi Arabia. He believes it was Piastri’s corner and Verstappen should have yielded the position. He thinks the stewards were right to award the penalty.
Brown said: “Oscar’s a tough guy, and if he had a chance to go for the lead… that was, frankly, not any sort of dive bomb. He clearly had the lead—he was up alongside and got a better start. So I think the penalty was appropriate.”
🟠| Oscar Piastri had Zak Brown quick to defend him following his lap one incident with Max Verstappen:
“Oscar’s a tough guy, and if he had a chance to go for the lead… that was, frankly, not any sort of dive bomb. He clearly had the lead—he was up alongside and got a better… pic.twitter.com/tdFEWuSjNW
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) April 20, 2025
“Whether we should’ve just swapped versus the time, that’s up to the stewards to decide what they feel is appropriate. But it was a clean start, he got the lead, and once he was there, he controlled the race.”
After winning the race, Piastri took the championship lead from his teammate Lando Norris. However, both Brown and Piastri believed that Verstappen had the pace to keep them honest, which is a concern for the Woking-based team.
