"I just gave up": Max Verstappen reveals he stopped trying after 5-second penalty

Max Verstappen and Red Bull's pit strategy allowed the Dutchman to resume the race from pole position following the first red flag period of the race, due to a nasty crash by Mick Schumacher on Lap 10. However, after he was eventually handed a five-second penalty for gaining a position off the racing surface, Verstappen claims he simply stopped trying and "just gave up".

Here's what Max Verstappen had to say regarding his penalty:

"When they told me that I had the five-second penalty, it was not worth fighting anymore because I would never pull a gap of five seconds."

The penalty was the result of an incident in Turn 1 on Lap 37, which saw the two cars collide and go off-track, preventing either car from making the corner. Considering that Max Verstappen was a good distance clear of Esteban Ocon in P3 and Valtteri Bottas in P4, the 24-year-old just did not see the point in pushing further.

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"Ultimately we didn't have perfect pace": Max Verstappen

After a long and hard fight at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Max Verstappen secured P2 behind his championship rival Lewis Hamilton, who also bagged an extra point for setting the fastest lap at the end.

Here's what Vertsappen had to say about their pace throughout the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix:

"I think, ultimately, we didn't really have perfect pace in the race, maybe also the medium tyres were not amazing till the end. I think the hard tires had a bit more life."

Despite losing the race to Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen was voted Driver of the Day. The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix proved to be undeniably entertaining, keeping drivers, teams and fans on their toes for a long and controversial 50-lap race.