Zak Brown defends penalty for Max Verstappen: “Piastri had the position and was on the inside”. Zak Brown says Verstappen's penalty in Jeddah was fair.

The words of the McLaren CEO
“It will be very difficult to pass Max,” said Helmut Marko after qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP, where the Red Bull driver secured pole position, beating Oscar Piastri by just 0.010 seconds thanks in part to a brilliant move from the Milton Keynes team’s pit wall, which gave Max Verstappen Yuki Tsunoda’s slipstream down the main straight.

Indeed, judging by the race pace of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, it would have been tough for the Australian to make a move on track, but the Dutchman’s poor start immediately changed the scenario. Oscar Piastri got off the line better than the Red Bull driver and entered Turn 1 on the inside, ahead of the reigning world champion. Max Verstappen tried to hold the outside line but cut the chicane without giving the place back to Oscar Piastri and was handed a five-second penalty.

“The penalty was fair,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown to Sky Sports UK. “Either Max gave the place back, or he was going to get a five-second penalty. Oscar Piastri was on the inside and was ahead—at a certain point you have to ‘give up’ or at least stay on the track.”

Zak Brown also added that he does not expect his team to dominate the 2025 Formula 1 season, despite four wins in the last five races: “Max Verstappen is a fantastic driver and the Red Bull is a very, very good car. There are still a lot of races to go, and both Mercedes with George Russell and Ferrari with Charles Leclerc have shown they can fight for victory.”