Diverging verdicts brew between Zak Brown and Christian Horner on Max Verstappen’s Saudi controversy

Max Verstappen's penalty at the Saudi Arabian GP drew contrasting takes from McLaren's CEO, Zak Brown, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner. While Brown backed the stewards' decision, Horner believed that there was not much Verstappen could've done in the opening-lap debacle.

During Sunday's race at Jeddah Corniche circuit, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri went wheel-to-wheel into the first corner, battling for position off a front row start. In an attempt to maintain his lead, the reigning champion went off track and rejoined ahead of Piastri, prompting a five-second penalty.

Consequently, Piastri gained the lead when Verstappen served the penalty during his first pitstop, leading to a 2.8-second victory over the Dutch driver. Horner spoke to the media post-race and revealed that he intended to present stewards with onboard footage that wasn't available at the time. Nonetheless, he admitted that the Austrian team won't be exercising their 'Right to Review' on the incident.

During a post-race interview with F1 TV, Zak Brown doubled down on the penalty, stating, via Formula1.com:

"Frankly it wasn’t any sort of divebomb, he clearly had the lead. He was up alongside, he got a better start. I think the penalty was appropriate. Whether we should have just swapped [positions] versus the time [being given], that’s up to the stewards to decide what they feel is appropriate."

Meanwhile, Horner was asked whether relinquishing the position instead of a penalty would've worked in their favor.

"We had that sort of discussion with the Race Director before the race through briefings and whatever else. We have this notion of ‘let them race’ – I don’t know where Max was supposed to go at that first corner. We’ve lost the race by [2.8] seconds so, yeah, it’s tough," he said, via Formula1.com

The result marked Piastri's third win of the season, allowing him to secure the championship lead ahead of his teammate Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen's position remained unchanged at third.

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Max Verstappen says he's 'not allowed' to comment on Saudi Penalty

During a post-race interview on Sunday, Max Verstappen shared that he was not allowed to discuss his penalty in the Saudi Arabian GP, underscoring F1's growing restrictions on free speech. He was previously penalized by the FIA for swearing at a press conference, after which the four-time world champion has noticeably remained guarded with his remarks.

Reflecting upon the same, Verstappen declined to comment on his penalty.

"It's better we don't talk about it, because we are anyway not allowed to express our opinion on that," Max Verstappen said.

Verstappen heads into the next race at Miami, looking to continue his stellar record at the track, having secured two race wins since its inception in 2022.