Max Verstappen was notably irritated after hearing about the penalty (ten seconds and two penalty points on his license) imposed by the race jury following his collision with Oscar Piastri in the opening round. Late in the race, after he had served the time penalty during the tyre stop, Verstappen still reacted angrily over the team radio. “Why not twenty seconds next time? Stupid idiots.”
This last remark from the four-time world champion did not sit well with SkySport commentator David Croft and analyst Martin Brundle. The duo, like Piastri who cynically called Verstappen’s manoeuvre ‘typical of a world champion’, were highly surprised. “You simply cannot say something like that to the stewards,” judges Brundle, a former F1 driver. “That’s not fair. They are just applying the rules. “If you don’t collide with others, you won’t get penalized.”
According to the race direction, the cause of the collision was entirely Verstappen’s fault, who eventually finished sixth. His total number of penalty points, due to the two in Abu Dhabi, now stands at eight. If he accumulates twelve within twelve months, a suspension of one race will follow.
