After Max Verstappen was recently given a contentious penalty for an on-track incident, former Formula 1 driver and Sky Germany commentator Ralf Schumacher has revealed where he believes Verstappen went wrong.
The Dutchman’s 2025 campaign has started off to a slower start than he has gotten accustomed to in recent years and after the first triple-header of the season, Verstappen is third in the drivers’ standings.
The 27-year-old had varied results from the three races. He started well with a victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, but he only finished P6 in Bahrain and P2 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last time around.
During last Sunday’s main event in Jeddah, Verstappen lost the lead while serving a five-second penalty in the pits after an incident with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 on the opening lap.
The stewards gave the Red Bull star the penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, specifically by staying ahead of Piastri at the first corner. Whilst Verstappen and his F1 team strongly disagreed with the ruling, the FIA have since released a statement confirming that the penalty could have been even more severe.
Should Verstappen have been handed a stronger penalty at Saudi GP?
F1’s regulatory body disclosed that Verstappen might have faced a 10-second penalty, but mitigating factors lessened the sentence after Christian Horner also voiced his disapproval with the ruling.
According to veteran racer Schumacher, who was interviewed on Sky Sports Germany’s F1 podcast Backstage Boxengasse, “In my eyes, and you will have to verify this with the stewards, the cutting off itself was not the biggest problem,”
He gained at least two vehicle lengths, though, by taking it in stride. He just picked up speed and exploited that.
“I think that was the real cause of the penalty,” Schumacher said.
“He grabbed an advantage. If he had held back a little bit, they might have sat side by side in the next corner and because of that, he might have gotten away with it.”
The German racer, who is the brother of F1 superstar Michael Schumacher, continued to analyse the racing event and point out where he believes the champion went wrong, even if he still believed the punishment Verstappen received for the incident was appropriate.
“One thing is also very clear, Piastri did not give him any space, so it could just as easily have resulted in a crash,”
However, the penalty is warranted since Verstappen just applied the brakes too soon. Piastri just had a superior start in this instance, and if not, this becomes the standard going forward.
