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F1 Pundit Martin Brundle delivered a bold statement in support of Oscar Piastri after his tangle with Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP. He claimed that the McLaren driver had the corner and that Verstappen should have given him the place back.
Max Verstappen was one of the first drivers to be penalized in Jeddah last week. He started the race in pole position with Oscar Piastri in P2. Heading into turn 1, they came wheel to wheel, which saw the Red Bull driver go off the track while defending his position. Seemingly, it was Piastri who had the corner and would have taken the race lead coming out of it. However, as Verstappen failed to give the position back and a safety car was deployed, he was penalized, which led to him finishing the race in P2.
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The penalty was argued over by the RBR crew, including Verstappen. The team felt the Dutchman had the corner, and it wasn't right to penalize him. However, F1 pundit Martin Brundle shares a different opinion.
Speaking on the incident, he boldly stated that Oscar Piastri had the corner, and Max Verstappen should have either backed off or given the place back.
"Oscar got into the first corner, got into the first apex and I have read the rules for 2025, and he had that corner," Brundle said. "But if your rival wants to come off the brakes, and if you look there's not a whole lot of steering lock going on, Max didn't really try to go around the outside. He'd lost that corner and he should have tucked back in."
"I think the team should have handed the place straight back. I think it was obvious he was going to take a penalty for that. Then I think they might have had a chance to win the race," he added.
Christian Horner comments on Max Verstappen's penalty
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had pictures of onboards of both drivers on the first corner, where he attempted to show that it was the Red Bull that was ahead on the apex of the corner, and hence, it was Verstappen's corner to make. Speaking to the media, he mentioned that Piastri had run deep and Verstappen had nowhere else to go.
"When you look at that [the image], I can't see how they got to that conclusion," Horner said (via ESPN). "They've both gone in at the same speed, Oscar's run deep into the corner, Max can't just disappear at this point in time, so perhaps these rules need a look at."
There was also a rule that the drivers would be allowed to race each other off on the first lap, but considering the penalty that Verstappen was given, Horner felt that it wasn't followed.
"I don't know what happened to let them race on the first lap, that just seemed to have been abandoned. I thought it was very harsh."
Max Verstappen has been competing at the top this season despite the pace that RBR has been delivering. He currently stands third in the Drivers' Championship with 87 points.
