CHRISTIAN HORNER presented fresh evidence disputing the “very harsh” penalty given to Max Verstappen at the Formula One Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
, but was only overtaken after being handed a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The incident occurred off of the race start at Turn 1 as Piastri made it to the first corner apex quicker than .
The Red Bull star then abandoned his attempt at making the second turn in the chicane, instead driving over the track limits to not lose any time.
Piastri, 24, was over the team radio asserting he was ahead at the corner and that Verstappen needed to give the position back, while the Dutchman said he had been left with nowhere to go.
Verstappen, 27, was then handed a penalty by race stewards which he responded to by saying “f***ing lovely” down the team radio, before serving it during his mandatory pit stop.
That advantage ended up being the difference as Piastri won his third race win of the season, making him the first Australian to lead the World Drivers Championship since Mark Webber in 2010.
But in the media room after the race, principal went around waving a picture of the Turn 1 incident as supposed evidence that the penalty was wrong.
F1 reporter Chris Medland said a rival team principal not from told Horner: “Let it go, he was never making that corner.”
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Horner said: “We have that discussion before the race with the directors. We have the notion of let them race but I'm not sure where Max is supposed to go.”
Fuming Verstappen stormed out of his post-race interview with David Coulthard and was quiet in the cooldown room before the podium.
He later went full as he raged on the penalty: “I can’t share my opinion otherwise I might get penalised so better not to speak about it.
“The world we live in, you can't share your opinion fully, apparently, or people can't handle the full truth. For me it’s better.
“I don't need to say too much, it also saves my time. We already have to do too much, it's how everything is becoming. Everyone is super sensitive about everything.
“Of course what we have currently we cannot be critical anyway, that's fine, less talking is even better for me.”
On whether he would appeal the decision, the four-time world champion said it was “not in my interest” and was only looking to go home.
After the race the FIA released a statement explaining their decision, revealing Verstappen had actually escaped a punishment of double the severity.
It said: “Car 81 was alongside Car 1 at the apex. Based on the Driver’s Standards Guidelines, it was therefore Car 81’s corner and he
was entitled to be given room.
“Car 1 then left the track and gained a lasting advantage that was not given back. He stayed in front of Car 81 and sought to build on the advantage.
“Ordinarily, the baseline penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds.
“However, given that this was lap one and turn one incident, we considered that to be a mitigating circumstance and imposed a 5 second time penalty instead.”
brought a close to the first triple-header of the F1 season, with a week break now before the Miami Grand Prix on May 4.
Piastri leads the World Drivers Championship ahead of team-mate , who recovered from a crash in qualifying to finish fourth, by 10 points and Verstappen by 12 points.
