Max Verstappen finds himself just 12 points from the top of the drivers’ standings, five rounds into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Under anyone else’s supervision, the Red Bull car would be nowhere near the top of the pile, but he continues to work miracles to remain in drivers’ championship contention.
Verstappen is aiming to join Michael Schumacher as the only Formula 1 drivers ever to win five titles in a row.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was another example of why the Dutchman should never be counted out of a race, following a miserable week prior in Bahrain.
His shaky start to the season has generated some interest in his future. Verstappen was ‘fed up’ of one question, as he was repeatedly questioned about his ties to Red Bull.
This year has brought a new rival to the table. Verstappen admires Oscar Piastri’s calmness and it looks like the two could be very close throughout the campaign.
READ MORE: F1 fans not buying how Christian Horner proved Max Verstappen’s penalty was unfair at the Saudi Arabian GP, ‘games the system’
Marc Priestley can’t see what else Max Verstappen could have done in ‘tricky’ Saudi Arabian Grand Prix situation
The start in Saudi Arabia brought them a little too close, with Verstappen eventually being handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
He finished less than three seconds behind his rival, meaning that he might have won without being hit with a penalty.
Marc Priestley agrees that Verstappen is right to feel agrieved and can’t see much else that he could have done in that situation.
“If he had settled for second-best, and by the way to do that he had to back off quite a lot early. [He’s] Racing for the apex, which he’s entitled to do.
“He didn’t get there first, but even to try and back out at that stage, was actually quite tricky to do. If you look at the onboard and slow the whole process down, because the corner is so tight, there really isn’t anywhere he could have gone.”
Was Max Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix penalty fair?
Alex Brundle called Verstappen’s penalty fair and believed that Piastri had earned the right to the corner on the inside.
It’s part and parcel of the fascinating turn one. It’s too tight for two cars to be carrying all the momentum that they want to be while side-by-side.
Maybe the track could be widened in the future, but it has produced some fascinating racing so far and should only help make things more exciting.
With a two-week break to dwell and reflect on the first fifth of the season before the Miami Grand Prix, the intensity of this new three-way title battle is only just beginning to ramp up.
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