An official document from the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, explains why Max Verstappen avoided a more severe penalty.
On Sunday, Verstappen started from pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
However, the Dutchman’s chances of winning the race ended after he received a five-second penalty for a first-lap incident involving McLaren star Oscar Piastri.
Both drivers entered the first corner tied, with Piastri on the inside and Verstappen on the outside.
Approaching the corner, the Red Bull driver had to go off track before rejoining the action in first position.
After being investigated by the stewards, Verstappen received a penalty for “leaving the track and gaining an advantage.”
Piastri won the race ahead of the Dutchman and Ferrari star Charles Leclerc.
After the race, Verstappen was visibly unimpressed and refused to participate in the champagne celebrations on the podium before Red Bull boss Christian Horner presented footage to challenge the penalty.
However, according to the official FIA document, things could have been worse for Verstappen.
The document established that the usual penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage would be 10 seconds.
However, the FIA explained: “Normally, the base penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds.
However, given that this was an incident on the first lap and first corner, we considered it a mitigating circumstance and imposed a 5-second penalty.
Fortunately for Verstappen, he won’t receive an extra point on his license for his tussle with Piastri.
Dutch F1 journalist Erik van Haren wrote on social media: “By the way, Verstappen won’t get an extra point on his license.” Because it wasn’t a dangerous incident (gaining an advantage by going off the track).
“Verstappen already had eight points; the first ones will be added at the end of June.”
F1 will return next month with the Miami Grand Prix, which will be held on May 4.
