George Russell has told Formula 1 rival Max Verstappen he can have no complaints about his costly penalty at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. Reigning world champion Verstappen was punished following an incident involving Oscar Piastri, receiving a five-second penalty.
Verstappen was penalised after the incident on the opening lap, with his penalty allowing Piastri to claim victory in Jeddah. The stewards found the Dutch driver’s actions illegal, and he was handed a penalty after failing to give position back to his rival.
When asked by reporters if he felt Verstappen could feel hard done by, Russell said: “No, not at all. I was quite surprised he didn’t give the position back straight away, to be honest.”
Piastri’s victory was his third of the season, and a second on the bounce after winning in Bahrain. He now holds a 10-point lead in the drivers’ standings, with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris just behind.
Verstappen, who beat Norris to the title last season, sits third. His only win this season came in Japan, but he still has a chance to shoot to the top of the overall standings if things go his way in Miami next time out.
“We determined that car 81 [Piastri] had its front axle at least alongside the mirror of car 1 [Verstappen] prior to and at the apex of corner one when trying to overtake car 1 on the inside,” the FIA document explaining Verstappen’s penalty read. “In fact, car 81 was alongside Car 1 at the apex.
“Based on the Driver’s Standards Guidelines, it was therefore car 81’s corner and he was entitled to be given room. Car 1 then left the track and gained a lasting advantage that was not given back. He stayed in front of car 81 and sought to build on the advantage.
“Ordinarily, the baseline penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds. However, given that this was lap one and turn one incident, we considered that to be a mitigating circumstance and imposed a five second time penalty instead.”
Verstappen didn’t appear in any mood to face questions about the incident in the immediate aftermath of the race. He walked out of his post-race interview after just one question, declining to reflect too deeply on his penalty.
“I’m going to keep it quite short,” Verstappen said. He thanked fans for their support but didn’t go into much detail into his feelings on the punishment, adding: “The rest is what it is. I’m looking forward to Miami – see you there.”
Piastri spoke about the incident in some more detail, though, after the stewards took his side. “Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of turn one in second place,” he said.
“Obviously, the stewards had to get involved, but I thought I was plenty far enough up and, in that end, that was what won me the race. So I’m very happy with all the work we’ve been doing at the starts.”
Celebrate the start of a new Formula 1 season and show your support for George Russell with official Mercedes F1 teamwear, merchandise and memorabilia now available from the F1 Store.
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