In Max Verstappen it was boiling after the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. What the Formula 1 king of the five-second penalty of the racing commissioners held against him could only be guessed at. Because in the afternoon Verstappen prescribed himself a kind of muzzle. According to Günther Steiner, a clever train.
With the exception of the commercially available curse radio, Max Verstappen could not be elicited from the five-second time penalty that the stewards had rushed to him for the start duel with McLaren man Oscar Piatri in Dschidda.
The Red Bull star only indicated his point of view of the judgment of the FIA racing commissioners. “The problem is that I can’t say my opinion because I may be punished again. So it’s better not to talk about it,” said Verstappen.
Subtext: I can’t say how stupid I find the punishment without getting too close to someone.
According to ex-team boss Günther Steiner, Verstappen reacted exactly correctly with his non-position. “I think he played that very cleverly. He sent a message without insulting someone,” said Steiner in the “Red Flags” podcast.
Formula 1: Verstappen “of course not happy”
In the past, the World Automobile World Association FIA had already punished Verstappen for its appearance-for example because the world champion chose non-youth-free words.
“If you have nothing good to say, say nothing,” commented Steiner Verstappen’s taciturn. “He used that to his advantage.”
The RTL expert also pointed out that Verstappen on the podium in Saudi Arabia shook the hand of FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem.
“We all saw that, so I think he had already cooled down a bit. But of course he wasn’t happy and I think he is still not happy about it.”
Verstappen had left the route in Dschidda immediately after the start in curve and sat down in front of McLaren-Pilot Oscar Piatri, which was actually on the inner lane in the left kink. Because the Red Bull Pilot did not give the place afterwards, he received a five-second time penalty, through which he had no chance in the fight for the GP victory against Piatri.