Oscar Piastri said he “braked as late as I could” in his reaction to the defining moment of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that saw Max Verstappen handed a penalty.

The two drivers on the front row were even closer than that come Turn 1, but while Piastri made it round the corner, Verstappen cut across in a move that ultimately cost him the race.

Oscar Piastri says right outcome achieved in Max Verstappen penalty verdict

Soon after the incident, the safety car was deployed, allowing both drivers to plead their case over the radio, but it was Piastri who came away happiest.

The stewards deemed that Piastri was alongside Verstappen at the apex and that “based on the Driver’s Standards Guidelines, it was therefore Car 81 [Piastri]’s corner, and he was entitled to be given room.”

They elaborated that while a 10-second penalty is usually the standard, as seen with Liam Lawson later in Jeddah, there was mitigating circumstance in their situation.

“Car 1 [Verstappen] then left the track and gained a lasting advantage that was not given back. He stayed in front of Car 81 and sought to build on the advantage.

“Ordinarily, the baseline penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage is 10 seconds. However, given that this was lap one and turn one incident, we considered that to be a mitigating circumstance and imposed a five-second time penalty instead.”

That five-second penalty was crucial, with Verstappen coming out behind Piastri once the pit stops had been completed, and with the quicker car, the Australian maintained a healthy gap all the way to the finish line.

Speaking afterwards, Piastri believed the right outcome had been achieved.

“It wasn’t the easiest of wins. I think the start was tough, the first stint was tough behind Max. And then once I had some clean air, it was a bit easier to manage. But I still couldn’t afford to take my foot off the gas.

“It was a difficult race, and Max was quick behind me, so I had to keep pushing. And, yep, I think I could control it reasonably well, but it was a little bit tighter than I would have liked.

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“I got a great launch and got myself alongside. And from that point, I knew that I obviously had to brake quite late, but I knew that I had enough of my car alongside to take the corner. We obviously both braked extremely late. For me, I braked as late as I could while staying on the track. And I think how it unfolded is how it should have been dealt with.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, was tight-lipped in the immediate aftermath following the race but later said if he shared his true opinion, he “might get penalised.”:

“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.

“I think it’s better not to talk about it. Anything I say or try to say about it might get me in trouble.”

Read next: Explained: Why Verstappen escaped bigger FIA punishment after Piastri incident