"Toto would be proud": Fans react to Red Bull's Christian Horner printing out the evidence to argue the case against Max Verstappen penalty

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner showed up to the post-race press conference at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with a printed photo in hand, contesting the stewards' decision to penalize Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver had received a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage by running off track while battling McLaren’s Oscar Piastri into Turn 2 on the opening lap.

Horner’s unusual move, reminiscent of Toto Wolff’s infamous 2021 moment with paperwork at race control, sparked immediate reactions online. While the Red Bull boss seemed convinced the image proved Verstappen was slightly ahead entering the corner and thus entitled to racing room, fans weren't exactly buying the argument.

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen battle for track position at the start of Saudi GP - Source: Getty

As seen in photos brought to the press conference, the Dutchman was slightly ahead as they entered the first corner, suggesting the overtake attempt was justified and legal. Red Bull Racing Daily posted the photo on X, captioned:

"Christian Horner came with receipts trying to explain why the penalty Max got is not fair 😭"

However, the stewards deemed that Verstappen left the track and did not rejoin safely, handing him a five-second penalty for violating Article 27.3 and Article 33.3 of the FIA Sporting Regulations. While the punishment is usually a 10-second penalty, the stewards decided a five-second penalty was enough, so early in the race.

This ultimately cost the polesitting Dutchman as he finished 2.843 seconds behind Oscar Piastri. This has become a point of debate online, as the internet responded hilariously. The response making waves was a playful nod to Toto Wolff, echoing the sentiment of many who recalled Mercedes boss once handing documents to stewards mid-race during the 2021 title fight. A fan quipped:

"Toto would be proud"

Most fans seemed to take a light-hearted jab at the Red Bull boss' theatrical defense in the media center:

"classic max moved that piastri did. Now it's a problem when it happens to him 😆" wrote one fan.

"Max is only just ahead in that picture because he decided not to brake at the turn 😂" another fan wrote

While others rallied behind Red Bull and Verstappen, offering a counter-narrative:

"@f1 is a joke. They are biased against Red Bull and Max. Everyone can see," commented one fan.

"When is a dive bomb not a dive bomb? When a British subject is doing it," questioned one fan.

"He's actually correct. Oscar didn’t leave space for 1 car width. Where did he expect Max to go?!" asked another.

"He's right the penalty is bogus. If anyone should get a penalty it was Oscar even though I don't think should. Racing incident," wrote yet another.

The mood in the paddock and among fans on social media was split. But Red Bull's commitment to defending their star driver kept things lively well after the checkered flag.

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner defends Verstappen: "I don't know where Max was supposed to go"

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri on podium after the Saudi GP. Source: Getty

While fans remained divided, the Red Bull camp is united in voicing their disagreement with the decision. While Max Verstappen stayed tight-lipped to avoid further penalties, Horner doubled down on his position, speaking to Sky Sports F1 following the race.

When asked if there was any consideration of giving the position back to Piastri to avoid a penalty, he revealed that they had discussed such scenarios pre-race. However, in this case, the team believed the move was clean.

"We had that sort of discussion with the race directors, obviously, 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 with that first corner. We've lost the race by 2.6 seconds. It’s tough...arguably without that penalty we would have won today as well," Horner mentioned.

He added that despite McLaren’s dominance in free practice, Red Bull had turned things around with competitive pace. While Horner remained frustrated with the stewards' verdict, he acknowledged the positives, pointing out that his side had clawed back points on Lando Norris and now trailed by just 12 in the championship.

Meanwhile, the first-lap chaos at Turn 1 wasn't limited to Verstappen. Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda made contact with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, ending his race prematurely with a heavy crash into the wall.