Footage taken from the stands at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix shows the moment Max Verstappen was approached by the FIA president moments after the end of the race. The Dutchman appears visibly frustrated as he exchanges a few words with Mohammed ben Sulayem.
Verstappen finished second behind Oscar Piastri after being given a five-second time penalty for a first corner incident with the McLaren racer. He was found guilty by the stewards of leaving the track and gaining an advantage and the punishment cost him a shot at victory.
His post-race interviews made clear his frustration, as he walked out of the first with David Coulthard and then, in the FIA press conference, refused to answer questions on the topic as he felt speaking his mind would land him in hot water.
But he seems to have told Ben Sulayem exactly what he thought of the stewards’ decision. Footage has circulated on social media showing Verstappen being approached by the FIA president as he was removing his helmet and gloves just moments after getting out of his Red Bull.
The viewing angle shows only the back of Ben Sulayem’s head so his demeanour and facial expressions during the exchange cannot be seen. But Verstappen is clearly animated as he shrugs his shoulders and makes several gestures with his arms during the conversation.
Over the radio, moments after the incident, Verstappen had protested his innocence and claimed that Piastri had pushed him off track. The McLaren driver pointed the finger right back, telling his race engineer that he felt the Dutchman was never going to make the corner anyway.
Verstappen led the first stint of the race after re-entering the track ahead of Piastri, but had to serve his five-second penalty when he stopped for fresh tyres. By the time he re-emerged from the pit lane, he was behind the McLaren which had already made its stop.
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Piastri went on to win by less than three seconds from Verstappen, suggesting the outcome of the race could have been very different if the penalty had not been given to the Red Bull driver. And, as far as team principal Christian Horner is concerned, it should not have been.
He brought with him printed-out screenshots taken from the onboard camera mounted on Verstappen’s car which he said proved his driver was ahead of Piastri at the apex of the corner and so should have been given more room to race. I thought it was very harsh,” the Red Bull chief said.
“We didn’t concede the position because we didn’t believe that he’d done anything wrong. You can quite clearly see at the apex of the corner that Max is clearly ahead. The rules of engagement were discussed previously, and it was a very harsh decision.”
But Horner also confirmed that his team would not be appealing the decision, adding: “We spoke to the stewards after the race – they think it was a slam dunk. The problem is, if we’re to protest it, then they’re going to most likely hold their line. We’ll ask them to have a look at the onboard footage that wasn’t available at the time. We’ll put this in front of them first, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”
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