Max Verstappen started the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP from pole, but in a matter of seconds, chances of victory slipped away from his hands. In a bid to hold on to his position amid a fight from Oscar Piastri, who started second, Verstappen went off the track. He thought he had gotten away with it, but the stewards didn’t agree.
A five-second penalty was handed to the Red Bull driver, who was furious—along with his team. They believed Piastri had pushed him off the track, a view they firmly maintained even after the race ended. Verstappen, in fact, was so furious that he protested by swearing on the team radio, and then not answering any questions about the penalty to the media.
Max Verstappen’s reaction to his five-second penalty at the start of the race pic.twitter.com/sXsurDaTAi
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 20, 2025
Whether the four-time champion was correct or not is another debate, but him complaining about being ‘pushed off track’? That’s something that doesn’t sit right with F1 journalist Sam Coop.
“I think five seconds was actually a bit too lenient,” he said on the RacingNews365 podcast.
Coop, echoing the sentiments of those supporting the FIA, felt that Verstappen could’ve easily earned a 10-second time penalty. According to the officials, the only reason Verstappen‘s evening didn’t get worse was because the incident took place on the first lap, which suggested it may not have been intentional.
Usually, drivers get the benefit of the doubt on the opening lap as collisions and crashes with other drivers are deemed as racing incidents. Coop, however, feels that Verstappen knew exactly what he was doing.
“What Max did was very deliberate,” he continued. “First of all, there was no question of whether or not Oscar deserved some space. It was Oscar’s corner.”
“It is his right as per the racing guidelines and the ones that Max has championed in the past and utilized to his advantage that permit Oscar to not leave him any space. So when Max kind of says, ‘There was no intention of him to make the corner,’ Max is wrong. Because Oscar did make the corner.”
Coop further pointed out that the only reason Verstappen managed to stay alongside Piastri was because he ‘lessened on the brakes’.
This has to be resolved as P1 for Oscar Piastri or more than 5-seconds penalty for Verstappen.
Piastri already overtook Max before the corner. And it has to be resolved ASAP. #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/aq2UxZdX9Z
— Maxx | F1newsletter.com (@F1_Newsletter) April 20, 2025
“So, Max was only in that position because he was never going to make the corner anyway. So that’s the big thing for the FIA, and why they went the way they did. And I think that nullifies Max’s right to complain.”
The five-second penalty dashed Verstappen’s hopes of staying ahead of the blisteringly quick MCL39. In the end, the Dutchman had to settle for P2 at the chequered flag. A 10-second penalty, however—as Coop believed he should have received—might have dropped him further down the order, potentially even out of the podium places.
Coop’s colleague on the podcast, Nick Golding, meanwhile, felt that the five-second punishment was fair, even though he agreed with the other points discussed.
Nevertheless, it was a huge missed opportunity for Verstappen to gain seven more points in the championship standings. He currently sits P3, 12 points behind leader Piastri. The Melbourne-born driver’s teammate, Lando Norris, is between them—two points ahead of Verstappen.
