There will be no further challenge from Red Bull regarding Max Verstappen’s five-second penalty at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The controversy began with a heated first-corner battle between Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Verstappen had a sluggish start, allowing Piastri to pull alongside into Turn 1. With the inside line, Piastri claimed the corner, forcing Verstappen wide into the runoff area as he refused to yield. Despite rejoining and taking the lead, Verstappen was later handed a five-second time penalty that proved crucial to the race outcome.
Red Bull believed Verstappen was within his rights to fight for the position. However, stewards sided with Piastri and McLaren after reviewing telemetry and video footage, which indicated Verstappen wouldn’t have made the corner cleanly even without Piastri’s presence. That undermined any argument he was unfairly forced off.
After finishing just 2.8 seconds behind the new championship leader, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko and Christian Horner hinted there would likely be no formal protest. That’s now confirmed: the team won’t pursue a right of review.
The key reason? There’s no new evidence to meet the FIA’s strict criteria for overturning a decision. With that, Red Bull has accepted the result and closed the chapter on what might have been a bigger post-race drama.
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Red Bull Backs Down: No Appeal Over Verstappen Penalty in Saudi GP Red Bull Backs Down: No Appeal Over Verstappen Penalty in Saudi GP