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IndyCar sensation Conor Daly's father, Derek, took to the social media platform X and reacted to the penalties awarded to four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP. Derek Daly detailed the disparity between the two penalties as he questioned the race stewards' decisions.
Conor Daly's father compared the 10-second and 5-second penalties given to Lawson and Verstappen, respectively, at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and suggested that cutting a corner should be a drive-through penalty irrespective of the situation.
“Verstappen skips 2nd corner-gains HUGE advantage ’cos he keeps lead- gets 5 sec penalty. Lawson goes off track-gains advantage-and gets 10 sec penalty… Huh???? Skipping corner shud be drive thru penalty….Congrats McLaren and Piastri,” read Conor Daly's father’s tweet.
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Max Verstappen started the race in pole position with Oscar Piastri in P2. However, the McLaren driver got a better start off the line and was ahead of the Dutchman going into Turn 1. Verstappen then brakes late, wasn't able to make the corner, and took avoiding action by cutting the corner and maintaining the lead.
On the other hand, midway through the race, Liam Lawson passed Jack Doohan on the main straight, but failed to slow down for the first corner, and marginally went off track.
The F1 fans and pundits questioned the decisions made by the Stewards. IndyCar’s play-by-play announcer, FOX star signing, and former F1 TV host Will Buxton also took to X and explained his confusion via a tweet. His tweet read,
“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.”
Comparing the two, Verstappen's off track excursion seemed a serious one in comparison to Lawson. However, the Kiwi driver was given a 10 seconds penalty whereas Verstappen only received a 5 seconds penalty.
Conor Daly reflects on the “difficult day” at Long Beach Grand Prix
Conor Daly had a tough qualifying session at Long Beach and started the race in P21. The JHR driver then had an issue during his first pitstop as he failed to get enough fuel for the next stint, which forced him to pit early for the second stop.
On top of the pitstop troubles, Daly also faced issues with the ride control, which further worsened his race pace. Detailing the same on X, Conor Daly tweeted,
“Really difficult day for us after not getting enough fuel in the car on the first stop. Also dealing with a ride control issue that basically wounded us terminally. Nothing we could do pace wise. Congrats to the team and @sting_ray_robb on a great result!”
Conor Daly finished the race in P25. His teammate, Sting Ray Robb, who started the race in P19 on the primary hard tires, finished in the Top 10 in P9, as he equalled his career best finish.
