Last sunday’s saudi arabian Grand Prix was decided by an incident at the first corner between the race winner, Oscar Piastri, and the pole-sitter, Max Verstappen. In the end, the result hinged more on the stewards’ decision than on what happened on the track, and, as expected, the verdict divided opinion between the two drivers and their teams. The vast majority of footage appeared to support the decision to penalise Verstappen, yet Red Bull continued to defend their stance—at least in the media—well into the night. However, one voice was notably absent from the post-race debate, as Verstappen chose to remain silent for fear of repercussions from the governing body. So, what happened in Jeddah? Piastri got the better start, allowing him to pull alongside Verstappen and slot his McLaren up the inside of Turn 1. Both onboard and external footage showed that Piastri was ahead of Verstappen as they approached the corner, but by the apex, Verstappen had drawn level and retook the lead on the outside as they headed towards Turn 2. Carrying more speed around the outside of the corner, it was highly unlikely that Verstappen would be able to stay on track—but that became irrelevant as the two cars turned right into Turn 2, and Piastri’s presence on Verstappen’s left forced the Dutchman to cut the corner to avoid a collision. Verstappen rejoined the track ahead of Piastri at the exit of Turn 2 and, within the next three corners, a collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly brought out the safety car on the following lap. With the safety car deployed, the race was neutralised with Verstappen ahead of Piastri. Piastri clearly felt hard done by and made his frustration known over team radio. “He has to give the place back,” he said. “I was ahead. He would never have made that corner whether I was there or not.” Verstappen replied over the radio: “He pushed me off the track. He had no intention of making the corner.” Verstappen held the lead when the race resumed, and on lap six the stewards handed the Red Bull driver a five-second penalty, giving Piastri the effective race lead—so long as he could stay close enough to Verstappen until the first round of pit stops, when the Dutchman would serve the penalty. What did the stewards say? The Turn 1 incident in Saudi Arabia was a tight call, but it was covered by F1’s guidelines. Since Piastri, as the driver making a move up the inside, had his front wheels ahead of Verstappen’s wing mirror at the apex, the corner was effectively his—and he was under no obligation to leave Verstappen space on the exit. Therefore, it was up to Verstappen to either maintain the lead by staying on the track—which seemed impossible given the trajectory of the cars—or to relinquish the position, even if only later in the lap. As the manoeuvre played out, Verstappen cut Turn 2 to avoid contact but failed to yield position, thereby “gaining a lasting advantage” in the stewards’ view. The stewards noted that leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage typically results in a 10-second penalty, but they opted for a five-second penalty because the incident occurred amid the chaos of the opening corner. The incident ultimately decided the outcome of the race, with Piastri claiming his third win of the season and taking the lead in the championship, ten points clear of his team-mate Lando Norris and twelve ahead of Verstappen. Stay tuned with Euro weekly news for the latest news about Sports.