Wheatley: Verstappen Should’ve Handed Piastri Back Lead

Ex-Red Bull boss says Verstappen’s move was unfair, while McLaren defends Piastri’s position after a bold and clean start.

Former Red Bull Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley, now with Sauber F1, has shared his take on the controversial start-line incident between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri — and says he would’ve handled it differently.

When Verstappen went off track but kept the lead, Red Bull chose not to ask him to give the position back. Wheatley, reflecting on the decision, said:
“I know exactly what I thought at the time. I would’ve done things differently — or at least advised a different approach.”

Though careful not to speak on behalf of Sauber, he made it clear:
“Within our team, that situation would’ve sparked a serious conversation. It reminded me of Turn 12 at Austin last year. I think we learned a few things from that.”

While acknowledging that no two racing incidents are identical, Wheatley believes the rulebook gives enough clarity to handle these moments:
“You never get the exact same scenario. Racing is incredibly dynamic. You’ve got tire wear, driver positioning, DRS advantages — all of it comes into play.”

He added that small actions can make a big difference:
“Sometimes I’d tell a driver, ‘If you’d given him just two more centimeters, it could’ve made the stewards’ job easier.’ It’s all about judgment — did the driver leave a car’s width? That’s what the stewards have to decide.”

Wheatley also pointed out how track design affects driver choices:
“When there’s gravel outside the corner, drivers behave differently. That’s human nature. If they know they can go off and sort it out later, they will. We’ve seen it before.”

He didn’t want to criticize with hindsight, but made one exception:
“I’ve never looked at that specific corner and thought it needed gravel. But Turn 12 in Austin? That’s one I’ve always thought needed a fix.”

On the other side of the debate, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had a clear view. For him, the incident wasn’t even up for debate:
“It was a tight first corner, no doubt. But Oscar had a great launch, positioned himself better than Max, and stayed on track. That earned him the right to stay ahead.”

“You simply can’t overtake off track — it’s that straightforward. We did the same thing in Bahrain when Lando overtook Hamilton off the track. Even if Lewis pushed him wide, we gave the place back. It’s just fair racing.”

Stella praised Piastri’s race and urged fans to focus on that instead:
“This shouldn’t be controversial. I’d rather use this as a moment to highlight Oscar’s performance — it was clean, tough, and incredibly precise.”

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Wheatley: Verstappen Should’ve Handed Piastri Back Lead Wheatley: Verstappen Should’ve Handed Piastri Back Lead