Helmut Marko has criticised F1’s stewards for an absence of consistency following Max Verstappen’s penalty initially of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was hit with a five-second penalty after the stewards deemed that he had left the monitor and gained a bonus when battling Oscar Piastri into Flip 1 on the opening lap of the race.
Piastri had made a greater begin than Verstappen and was forward on the apex of the nook.
Verstappen braked late and reduce the nook to keep up the place.
As he didn’t relinquish the place, the stewards handed him a five-second penalty, a choice which in the end compromised his race and his probabilities of successful the race.
Marko was left unimpressed by the choice, pointing to comparable incidents within the assist races, similar to Components 2, that went unpunished.
Chatting with Sky Germany, Marko mentioned: “I feel the race was misplaced initially. And actually, the place was Max alleged to go? We watched the Components 2 races, and the identical factor occurred to 2 or three drivers.
“They have been solely given warnings. So in our view, the five-second penalty was a bit harsh… the inconsistency in stewarding is obscure.
“Piastri was forward initially, however on the final braking zone, Max was barely forward once more. However it’s what it’s.”
Verstappen tempo “provides us confidence”
Regardless of the penalty, Verstappen completed second, inside three seconds of eventual race winner Piastri.
It was a powerful efficiency from Verstappen, per week on from a nightmare Bahrain Grand Prix.
In Bahrain, Verstappen completed a lowly sixth, overtaking Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on the ultimate lap of the race.
Their lack of tempo led to a ‘disaster assembly’ happening after the race between Crimson Bull’s senior figures.
Consequently, the lead-up to this weekend in Saudi Arabia was centred round Verstappen’s future amid Crimson Bull’s poor kind.
Marko believes Verstappen’s tempo provides Crimson Bull confidence transferring ahead.
“You would see it – he pulled a three-second hole early on. Piastri was already complaining about tire degradation. If you’re following one other automobile, it’s all the time harder,” Marko added. “And on the second stint with the exhausting tires, when Max actually pushed to the restrict, we have been closing in once more.
“If somebody had advised us on Friday that we’d end second, we’d have celebrated. However the automobile modifications have been so efficient that we’re clearly a bit deflated to not carry house the win. Nonetheless, we confirmed we’ve acquired the velocity and tire put on underneath management – that offers us confidence transferring ahead.”
