Max Verstappen was not pushed off at Turn 1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he would never have made the corner.

After retaining the position despite Piastri’s complaints, the stewards hit Verstappen with a five-second time penalty. The McLaren star inherited the lead through the pit cycle as a result and kept his rival at arm’s length throughout the second stint, answering the reigning world champion’s attacks at every step of the way.

Zak Brown feels it “would have been better for everyone” if Max Verstappen had ceded the lead to Oscar Piastri after going off-track at first corner