Max Verstappen punished minutes into Saudi GP as Martin Brundle slams penalty

Max Verstappen was penalised at the start of the after an incident with on the opening lap. Both shared the front row and were battling for the lead into the race after the lights went out and they hared down to the first corner.

Piastri got the better launch and seemed to poke the nose of his ahead of the . But went off track to avoid a collision and exited the chicane still in the lead, much to the displeasure of his rival.

Over the radio, Piastri made it clear he was upset with Verstappen's actions and felt the Dutchman "had no intention of making that corner". But Verstappen claimed he had been pushed off the track and was unwilling to give the place up to the McLaren driver.

The incident went to the stewards and they eventually sided with Piastri. Verstappen was hit with a five-second time penalty which he had to serve in the pit lane when he first stopped for a change of tyres.

In commentary, said it was a "fair cop" after re-watching footage of the incident. But his initial reaction to the penalty given to the Dutchman was to say that it may not have been enough of a punishment considering Verstappen still had the benefit of track position.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

The favourite said: "That still leaves him out front and in clean air. Let's forget which car it is and who's driving, that leaves that driver up front in clear air rather than giving the place back. You've either gained the place unfairly, or you haven't. I don't think that penalty does the job properly."

Verstappen was unhappy with the outcome of that incident and made that clear over the radio as he said it was "f***ing lovely". And Piastri suggested that he concurred with Brundle that he would have preferred the lead of the race over the penalty for his rival as he told his engineer that he was desperate for clean air.

But it was a blow for Red Bull who would be unable to touch Verstappen's car for at least five seconds before changing his tyres for the first time. And, to make matters worse for the team, their other driver was already out of the race.

While Verstappen and Piastri avoided contact, the same could not be said for as he battled for position heading into turn five on that first lap. He and made contact, sending both cars into the barrier.

The was destroyed on impact, making it clear the Frenchman's racer was over. Tsunoda managed to get going again and nursed his Red Bull back to the pit lane so the mechanics could assess the damage done.

They spent several seconds inspecting it with hard tyres at the ready in case they tried to continue. But after a good look at the back of the car, which is what hit into the wall, it was decided that it was not worth the Japanese continuing to race.