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Will Buxton shared his opinion about Max Verstappen's penalty during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, claiming that the sanction was well deserved. The Dutch driver received a five-second time penalty during Sunday's race at Jeddah, for going off the track and gaining an advantage on lap 1, turn 1.
Ever since Sunday's race, the rationale behind Max Verstappen's penalty has been keenly debated, as it was eventually the deciding factor in the battle between the Red Bull man and Oscar Piastri during the race. The Aussie driver gained the net lead of the race, as Verstappen had to stay stationary for five seconds in his grid box during the pit stop, and went on to claim his third victory of the season.
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FOX IndyCar commentator and former F1TV host, Will Buxton, shared his opinion on the Verstappen penalty via X on Monday, labelling it as 'a slam dunk' sanction. The Briton also sympathized with RB driver Liam Lawson, who got what he felt was a harsher penalty for a seemigly lesser offense.
"Intriguing penalties in yesterday’s F1 race. Verstappen one a slam dunk to my mind. Zero wiggle room on that. But the Lawson one I cannot get my head around. The move for position was done and long since completed on the straight. Very odd."
Liam Lawson overtook Jack Doohan on Lap 28 of the race, on the main straight, and then drove off the track for less than a second as he failed to make the corner at turn 1. The Kiwi driver got a penalty for driving off the track and gaining an advantage, even though he had made the move well before the corner.
While it was deemed as the same offense that Verstappen had made on Lap 1, the stewards gave Lawson a 10-second penalty, while they had given the Dutch driver only a 5-second penalty. The stewards explained that 10-seconds is the pre-decided penalty for the offense, but they were lenient with Verstappen due to the incident having happened on the first lap of the race.
What Max Verstappen said about his Saudi Arabian GP penalty
Max Verstappen remained tight-lipped about the incident with Oscar Piastri after the Saudi Arabian GP on Sunday, refusing to make a comment on the episode which arguably cost him the race win. The Dutchman claimed that sharing his opinion on the penalty may get him in trouble with the FIA.
Verstappen told Sky Sports that he preferred not to discuss the incident due to the current state of social media and society, as he claimed that his words would get twisted online. He also mentioned that he was not allowed to criticize the FIA.
"I cannot share my opinion because I might get penalized. So it's better not to speak about it," Verstappen said.
"And then, of course, what we have currently, we cannot be critical anyway. So, that's fine, less talking, even better for me." he added.
Max Verstappen remains third in the drivers' standings after the Saudi Arabian GP, as he remains within touching distance of his rivals ahead. Oscar Piastri moved into the lead of the championship after his third victory of the season, and now leads his teammate, Lando Norris (second), by 10 points.
