Verstappen refuses to discuss Saudi Arabian GP penalty

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix runner-up Max Verstappen refused to discuss his penalty for going off track at Turn 1 at the start of the race.

The Red Bull driver was handed a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage when he cut Turn 2 to stay in the lead after McLaren rival Oscar Piastri had made a better getaway to arrive on the inside at the first corner.

While Verstappen led the race until the pitstops, the penalty meant he dropped behind Piastri after they both had stopped.

From there, the McLaren driver managed to keep his rival at bay to win by 2.8sec and take the championship lead.

Verstappen first dodged answering a question from David Coulthard in the on-track interview and later again during the FIA press conference, saying he didn’t want to risk getting in trouble.

When asked in the post-race press conference to give his take on what happened at the start, Verstappen said. “Yeah, start happened, Turn 1 happened, and suddenly it was lap 50. It just all went super fast.”

“The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised also, so it’s better not to speak about it,” he added.

“I think it’s better not to talk about it. Anything I say or try to say about it, it might get me in trouble.”

Verstappen was punished after last year’s Singapore Grand Prix when he was describing his car’s performance. The FIA ruled that his language had been “coarse, rude” and “not considered suitable for broadcast”.