The Saudi Arabian GP began with the controversial incident at Turn 1 between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. Following the episode, the Dutchman was handed a five-second penalty which ultimately cost him the victory. Andrea Stella brought up Hamilton’s case to explain why the McLaren driver was entitled to have the position returned.
It all started with a less-than-perfect start from Verstappen on pole, which allowed Oscar Piastri to get alongside him at Turn 1. The Australian, on the inside, defended his line, while the Dutchman cut the corner, thus maintaining the lead.
The team did not consider it necessary to give the position back, but the race stewards disagreed. Upon reviewing the incident, the stewards decided to hand a five-second penalty to the 1997-born driver for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Max Verstappen served the penalty during his pit stop and, in the end, it likely cost him his second win of the season. The frustration over the decision was immediately evident once he stepped out of the car; after a heated conversation with Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Dutchman said little during post-race interviews, the cooldown room, and on the podium.
Despite Max Verstappen’s disappointment, Stella felt it necessary to defend the McLaren driver, who he believes acted properly. “The situation at Turn 1 was very tight, to be honest,” said the Italian to the media. “But this is an area where margins of advantage are very slim.”
“This time Oscar, thanks to a great start and positioning the car slightly ahead of Max on the inside, managed to keep the car within track limits and thus earned the rights,” he continued.
“And obviously, in that situation, you can’t overtake off-track. So I think this is a very clear case, like what we did with Lando in Bahrain. There, we realised we had overtaken Lewis Hamilton off-track even though, in a way, Hamilton had pushed us off.”
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Stella said the dynamics of the incident were very clear to him, and there was no need to spark any controversy. “I think this is a clear case, it shouldn’t cause any controversy. And if anything, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight how well Oscar is racing. It’s clean, hard, and extremely precise driving,” he concluded.
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