The FIA have released a decision document regarding Max Verstappen‘s penalty at the Saudi Grand Prix this weekend.

The reigning world champion was given a five-second penalty early in Sunday’s race for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, specifically by staying ahead of Oscar Piastri at the first corner.

The pair’s first and only pit stops saw them swap positions as Verstappen served his penalty, eventually fighting back to less than three seconds behind the Australian winner.

The document confirms that Verstappen was punished because Piastri was alongside him and entitled to attempt to pass fairly, with the stewards ruling that the Dutchman ‘gained a lasting advantage that was not given back’.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has spoken out against the decision, with Verstappen himself refusing to be drawn into overt criticism of the penalty, but the decision document revealed that the punishment could have been even more severe.

Why was Verstappen penalised at the Saudi GP?

The FIA revealed that Verstappen could have faced a similar punishment to Racing Bulls star Liam Lawson, who was hit with a 10-second penalty near the end of the race, but mitigating circumstances lowered the punishment.

The official FIA document read: “The stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry and in-car video evidence and determined that car 81 had its front axle at least alongside the mirror of car 1 prior to and at the apex of corner 1 when trying to overtake car 1 on the inside. In fact, 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 five-second time penalty instead.”

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Formula 1 champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton failed to find any pace during the opening practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as Pierre Gasly topped the timesheets.

The Alpine star shocked the field by setting the fastest time on the soft tyres, ahead of both McLarens with championship leader Lando Norris in second.

Charles Leclerc separated Norris from his team-mate Oscar Piastri, whilst Hamilton languished in P8 and Verstappen finished the session a place behind in P9.

Whilst FP1 was the first session of running in Jeddah, it will not be as representative as FP2 which takes place at 8pm (local time), the same time that both qualifying and Sunday’s race will kick off.

Haas star Ollie Bearman avoided a major incident after he locked up into Turn 1 and grazed the barrier, but luckily did not crash as he found his way onto the run-off area.

The team revealed that he had received damage to his front wing and returned to the garage for repairs during the session.

Former Red Bull star, Liam Lawson, was placed under investigation during the session which will be looked into after FP1 for ‘failing to follow the race directors instructions’.

F1 FP1 Results: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025

1. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] – 1:29.239secs
2. Lando Norris [McLaren] – +0.007
3. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] – +0.070
4. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] – +0.102
5. Alex Albon [Williams] – +0.367
6. George Russell [Mercedes] – +0.379
7. Carlos Sainz [Williams] – +0.540
8. Lewis Hamilton [Ferrari] – +0.576
9. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] – +0.579
10.Yuki Tsunoda [Red Bull] – +0.582
11. Liam Lawson [Racing Bulls] – +0.668
12. Nico Hulkenberg [Kick Sauber] – +0.677
13. Kimi Antonelli [Mercedes] – +0.695
14. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] +0.737
15. Isack Hadjar [Racing Bulls] – +0.772
16. Jack Doohan [Alpine] – +0.944
17. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] +1.344
18. Ollie Bearman [Haas] – +1.356
19. Esteban Ocon [Haas] – +1.790
20. Gabriel Bortoleto [Kick Sauber] – +1.799

Who is the current F1 world champion?

Max Verstappen is the reigning F1 champion, won his fourth drivers’ championship last year.

Is there F1 today?

Yes, FP2 will take place after FP1 on Friday, April 18, at 8pm (local time) and 6pm (BST). To read the complete breakdown of practice times and how to watch in your location click here.

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