What happened between Verstappen & Piastri during the Grand Prix? CSN News

The race for the saudi arabian Grand Prix on sunday was won by Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen after an accident at the first turn.

The outcome of the race was determined more by the stewards decision than the events on the track. And, as expected the verdict split opinion between both drivers and teams.

The vast majority of footage appeared to support the decision to penalise Verstappen, yet Red Bull continued to defend their stance—at least in the media—well into the night.
But one voice was noticeably absent from the debate after the race, as Verstappen chose silence for fear that he would be punished by the governing authority.

What happened in Jeddah, then?

Piastri had the advantage in the start. He was able to get alongside Verstappen, and slot his McLaren into the Turn 1 inside. Onboard and external footage both showed Piastri ahead of Verstappen when they approached the turn. However, by the apex Verstappen was level with him and had retook the advantage on the outside.

Carrying more speed around the outside of the corner, it was highly unlikely that Verstappen would be able to stay on track—but that became irrelevant as the two cars turned right into Turn 2, and Piastri’s presence on Verstappen’s left forced the Dutchman to cut the corner to avoid a collision.

Verstappen rejoined track before Piastri exiting Turn 2. A collision between Yuki tsunoda, and Pierre Gasly within the next 3 corners brought out the Safety Car on the following lap.

After the safety car was deployed, Verstappen won the race ahead of Piastri. Piastri was clearly upset and expressed his frustration over the team radio.

“He needs to return the property,” he said. “I was in front.” He wouldn’t have turned that corner if I wasn’t there. Verstappen said over the airwaves: “He shoved me off the track.” He did not intend to turn the corner.”

Verstappen held the lead when the race resumed, and on lap six the stewards handed the Red Bull driver a five-second penalty, giving Piastri the effective race lead—so long as he could stay close enough to Verstappen until the first round of pit stops, when the Dutchman would serve the penalty.

What did the stewards have to say?

The Turn 1 incident was close, but was covered by F1 rules. Since Piastri, as the driver making a move up the inside, had his front wheels ahead of Verstappen’s wing mirror at the apex, the corner was effectively his—and he was under no obligation to leave Verstappen space on the exit.

Therefore, it was up to Verstappen to either maintain the lead by staying on the track—which seemed impossible given the trajectory of the cars—or to relinquish the position, even if only later in the lap.

The stewards felt that Verstappen gained a “lasting advantage” when he cut the Turn 2 to avoid a contact.
The stewards stated that leaving track and gaining an advantage would normally result in a 10 second penalty. However, they chose to penalize the driver for five seconds as the incident happened during the chaos of the first corner.

Piastri’s third victory of the season, and his lead in the championship ten points ahead of Lando Norris, and 12 points ahead of Verstappen, was decided by the incident.

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