Max Verstappen slammed after ‘disrespectful’ act towards F1 rival spotted

Max Verstappen was left furious at being handed a penalty during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, but his actions following the race have landed the Red Bull star in more hot water

Max Verstappen has been branded ‘disrespectful’ for failing to celebrate on the podium following the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. Verstappen came home second in Sunday’s race, behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

The result hanged on a five-second penalty Verstappen was handed for leaving the track and gaining advantage at turn one on the opening lap. It meant that the Dutchman lost the lead to Piastri after the pit stops.

The Red Bull star was left furious at the decision, though refused to speak out against the stewards for fear of getting fined. He delivered a short, two sentence interview post-race before heading to the cooldown room.

The podium-finishers then headed for the ceremony, which is topped by the spraying of champagne. But while Piastri and third-placed Charles Leclerc began spraying their bottles, Verstappen was seen picking his up and just drinking out of it.

That has drawn a furious response from former Benetton star Johnny Herbert. He insisted Verstappen was ‘unprofessional’ for not celebrating his fellow drivers as he backed the decision to hand the Dutchman a penalty in the race.

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“I saw Max Verstappen drink the champagne on the podium and didn’t really celebrate Oscar or Charles. It comes across as unprofessional and disrespectful, from a four-time world champion. You have to be gracious in defeat sometimes,” Herbert told Beste Online Casino Nederland.

“I don’t know how people will argue that it was an unfair penalty. The people arguing against it have probably never been in a race car, and definitely not in an F1 car, so they have zero understanding.

“I’ll include Christian Horner in this, too. I know he’s the team principal and he’s trying to do what’s best for Red Bull, but sometimes you have to just admit you’re wrong and give the place back. Most drivers are very aware of when they should give the place back.”

Verstappen held back from outright criticising the stewards for their decision, but made his unhappiness clear. The four-time world champion insisted he was being muzzled from speaking out by FIA rules.

“Start happened, Turn 1 happened, and suddenly it was lap 50. It just all went super-fast. The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised also, so it’s better not to speak about it,” he said.

“I prefer not to talk a lot because sometimes your words can be twisted or people interpret it in a different way. It’s honestly better not to say too much. So that’s what I’m trying to do. Honestly, it’s better if I don’t say too much.”

Piastri meanwhile backed the stewards’ decision to hand out the penalty, as well as praising his McLaren team for their strategy. He said: “Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn 1 in second.

“I tried my best, obviously the stewards had to get involved but I thought I was plenty far enough up and in the end that’s what got me the race. So yeah, very happy with all the work we’ve been doing with the starts and that’s what won us the race today.

“It was really tricky to follow out there, I couldn’t really stay with Max at the end of the first stint, just chewed up my tyres and then the clean air was nice after the pitstops. We did the parts we needed to right.”