Penalty denies Max Verstappen and Red Bull victory at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

A five second time penalty ultimately proved pivotal as Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was handed a penalty for a move to prevent Oscar Piastri taking the lead into turn one at the start of the race, and the penalty ultimately proved decisive, with the Dutchman finishing less than three seconds behind the Australian McLaren driver at the end of the race.

The decisive incident was part of a pivotal first lap for Red Bull, with Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda taken out after a collision with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine.

The result means that, with five races of the 2025 F1 season done, Verstappen dropped a place to third in the Driver’s Championship. The man who has won the last four titles currently sits 12 points behind new leader Piastri, who took the lead in the championship after winning for the third time this season.

Tsunoda has just six points so far in the campaign, with two picked up from his first three races at Red Bull.

In the Constructor’s Championship, Red Bull sit third in the standings, with the Milton Keynes-based team on 89 points. They are 22 points behind second place Mercedes and 99 behind early leaders McLaren.

Red Bull had entered the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix chasing big rewards, with both drivers in the top ten for only the second time this season and Verstappen having delivered a fine qualifying lap to pip Piastri and George Russell to pole position.

When the race began, however, two pivotal incidents that changed Red Bull’s fate took place.

The first saw Verstappen cut turn one after the faster starting Piastri had managed to get inside and to turn one. Red Bull opted not to give the position back, and three laps later, the stewards got involved by handing Verstappen a five second time penalty.

When the penalty was given, it came at the end of a safety car in which a Red Bull driver was involved. Tsunoda and his former Alpha Tauri teammate Gasly were battling when the two made contact going through turn 4.

The duo spun after the contact, putting Gasly’s Alpine into the wall and out on the spot. Tsunoda initially limped back to the pits, but when back in his garage, the Japanese driver’s car was deemed too damaged to continue and he was retired from the race.

Red Bull pitted Verstappen on lap 21, pitting one lap after Piastri. The move meant that Piastri was able to jump Verstappen thanks to the combination of the undercut and the penalty.

While Verstappen was able to keep Piastri honest, he wasn’t able to erode the gap, allowing the Australian to take his second victory in a row and third in the 2025 season so far.

Red Bull will be aiming to go again next time out, when the F1 season resumes in Miami early next month.