Gian Carlo Minardi doesn’t think Max Verstappen should have received a five-second penalty at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. 

But he does have a suggestion for the penalty the Red Bull driver should have received instead: a drive-through.

Max Verstappen needed a drive-through penalty, says Minardi

After an extremely difficult weekend in Bahrain, Max Verstappen once again illustrated why many Formula 1 fans consider him one of the all-time greats due to his performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

While Red Bull Racing wasn’t convinced it had the long-run pace to battle McLaren, it was confident in its speed over one lap, and that panned out in qualifying when the four-time champion snatched pole position from Oscar Piastri by just a hair.

But on race day, Verstappen still proved to have strong pace. He led the race up to the first pit stop and crossed the line in second place.

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The reigning champion may very well have had a chance to compete for a win, though, had it not been for his penalty.

Verstappen and second-placed starter Oscar Piastri were neck-and-neck drag racing through the first corners, both drivers desperate to snatch the lead.

As they rounded into Turn 2, Piastri maintained an aggressive line while Verstappen dived up the inside in a bid to take away the McLaren’s advantage. He ran off the track as he did so, and took the lead after cutting Turn 2 almost entirely.

The stewards determined that Piastri had the corner, and that Verstappen was in the wrong, issuing him a five-second penalty.

But that penalty wasn’t enough, says Gian Carlo Minardi, former owner of his eponymous Formula 1 team.

“I do not agree with the penalty,” Minardi wrote in The Point, a Formula column.

“I believe that 5 [seconds] are too few considering the advantage obtained by his action and also because they came at the start of the race.

“He had plenty of time to recover, crossing the finish line in second place, little more than 2 [seconds] from the Australian.

“A drive-through would have been more consistent.”

Drive-through penalties mean that drivers have to drive through the pit road at the assigned speed limit and can rejoin the race after doing so. These penalties have largely been assigned for race start, pit speed, or pit exit infractions, though there are no formal guidelines dictating the penalties required in certain situations.

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