24/04/2025 13:50
Max Verstappen should have been hit with a drive-through penalty in
the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, according to former F1 boss Gian
Carlo Minardi. Verstappen was hit with a five-second time penalty
by F1 stewards in Jeddah for passing Oscar Piastri off-track at
Turn 1 on lap 1 after he felt the McLaren forced him wide and
through the run-off. As the controversial incident happened on the
opening lap, the stewards mitigated Verstappen's penalty, hitting
with a five-second sanction compared to the standard 10 seconds.
The Dutchman went on to lose the race to Piastri by 2.8s after
serving the penalty during his sole pit stop. Reflecting on the
race, Minardi, who ran his eponymous outfit, felt the stewards were
far too lenient on the Red Bull driver. "In Saudi Arabia, we saw a
weekend under the banner of McLaren, but especially under the name
Oscar Piastri, who forcefully took the number one spot within the
team," Minardi began in a post on his own website. "By taking his
third win of the season, he is confirming that he is a complete
driver, but Verstappen is always present. "He was the author of an
extraordinary pole position after the difficult weekend in Bahrain,
however, I do not agree with the penalty. "I believe that five
seconds are too few considering the advantage obtained by his
actions, and also because they came at the start of the race. "He
had plenty of time to recover, crossing the finish line in second
place, 2.8s from Piastri. A drive-through would have been more
consistent."
