FIA statement explains Max Verstappen double penalty decision

Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen was handed a controversial penalty at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but following the lap one incident, plenty among the paddock have publicly criticised the stewards’ decision.

As Red Bull team principal Christian Horner desperately presented printed-out images to prove his case against the penalty, the FIA doubled down, releasing a statement which revealed the F1 champion was actually at risk of receiving double the punishment.The Dutchman headed into the main event in Jeddah on pole position, but instantly put a Saudi victory in jeopardy after a lap one battle with Oscar Piastri put him under investigation.

It was later decided Verstappen had left the track and gained an advantage by staying ahead of Piastri at the first corner, for which he was handed a five-second penalty.

However, his former team-mate Liam Lawson was found guilty of the same act later in the race, but why was the Racing Bulls star handed double the punishment that Verstappen was?

How did Verstappen and Red Bull avoid double punishment at Saudi GP?

Lawson finished Sunday’s race in P11 but after being handed a 10-second penalty by the stewards, the 23-year-old dropped down to P12.The recently demoted Racing Bulls star left the track while fighting for position with the Alpine of Jack Doohan and was deemed to have gained an advantage by doing so which was never given back.

Verstappen served his five-second penalty in the pits on lap 15, but with Red Bull boss Horner and his star driver both blatantly furious over the decision, many have spoken out over the belief that Verstappen should have been handed a 10-second penalty as well.So why did Verstappen get five seconds but Lawson 10?In the official statement released by the sport’s governing body over the Verstappen versus Piastri incident, the FIA declared: “Ordinarily, the baseline penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds,” as was the case with Lawson later in the grand prix.

However, the statement continued, revealing how Verstappen managed to avoid a harsher verdict: “However, given that this was lap one and turn one incident, we considered that to be a mitigating circumstance and imposed a five-second time penalty instead.”On the other hand, a similar statement released by the FIA over Lawson’s incident read: “While he completed the overtake before Turn 1, the speed that he carried into the turn meant that he could not navigate Turn 1 without leaving the track.”He therefore could not successfully overtake Car 7 [Doohan] without leaving the track and thereby gained a lasting advantage which he did not give back.

“The standard penalty of 10 seconds was therefore applied.”F1 HEADLINES: FIA release official statement on Verstappen penalty as Horner produces evidence