Max Verstappen furious post-race: argument with FIA president caught on camera | F1 Jeddah GP. Max Verstappen clashes with FIA president Ben Sulayem after Saudi GP penalty.

Max Verstappen was absolutely furious after what happened on the first lap of the Saudi Arabian GP: following the race, a heated exchange broke out with the FIA president.

The four-time world champion lost his temper. He and the Red Bull team didn’t take well what happened during the opening lap of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. That’s why, after crossing the finish line and before the podium ceremony, Max Verstappen was involved in a heated argument with FIA president Ben Sulayem. Below are the PHOTOS taken by our correspondent.

We’ll never know if Max Verstappen would have won the race without the 5-second penalty he received, but that penalty definitely took away his chance to fight and put pressure on Oscar Piastri. In this case, perhaps, the Dutch driver himself made a very slight mistake, losing the clarity of judgment that usually sets him apart.

Verstappen cut the chicane in an attempt to defend against the McLaren driver, and before the Safety Car came out, he could have given back the lead, still having 49 laps to reclaim it. But that didn’t happen. By holding on to the lead, the stewards penalized him, and as has been stated, the penalty was lighter since the incident occurred amid the chaos of the first lap.

Even Christian Horner, right after the checkered flag waved, went to the journalists bringing images of the incident. In defense of his driver, he wanted to show that the Federation had once again made a mistake in judging the incident. It’s not the first time many have criticized the stewards’ decisions as incorrect, lacking logic, or inconsistent compared to similar cases.

But it wasn’t just the team principal. As soon as he got out of the car and was drying off after the tough race, Max Verstappen was approached by FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem. The Dutchman openly expressed his disagreement with the decision taken, and a brief quarrel broke out between the two, captured by our correspondent in Jeddah.

The relationship between Max and the FIA has long been strained. The world champion has been hit by numerous penalties, the latest being for swearing in a press conference.