Max Verstappen explains penalty silence: ‘People can’t handle full truth’

Max Verstappen has claimed people “can’t handle the full truth” as he refused to explain his frustration at his F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix penalty.

The four-time world champion was handed a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage as he went wheel-to-wheel with Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 during the start of Sunday’s race in Jeddah.

Verstappen, who took pole position, finished second to the McLaren driver and cut-short his interview on the grid immediately after the race finished.

Speaking in the FIA press conference, the Dutchman continued to be tight-lipped when fielding questions about the incident.

“Yeah, the start happened, Turn 1 happened, and suddenly it was lap 50. It just all went super-fast,” Verstappen said.

“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, it might get me in trouble.”

The penalty angered Red Bull who presented evidence to dispute it - though the team are not set to protest. 

Why Max Verstappen didn't want to talk about penalty 

Verstappen made it clear he was unhappy with the decision but would not elaborate further because he feared getting in trouble with F1’s governing body the FIA.

The 27-year-old was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” after he swore in a press conference at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

New driver guidelines were introduced ahead of the 2025 season to clampdown on swearing. F1 drivers can now receive fines and potential bans for "any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA".

Asked whether concern about possible retribution from the FIA was behind his silence, Verstappen replied: “I think it's just the world we live in. You can't share fully your opinion because it's not appreciated, apparently. Or people can't handle the full truth.

“For me, I mean, honestly, it's better if I don't need to say too much. It also saves my time because we already have to do so much, you know. So yeah, it's honestly just how everything is becoming.

“I know that I cannot swear here. But at the same time, you can also not be critical. Let me get the sheet out: there's a lot of lines [of things you cannot say or do in press conferences], you know.

“So that's why it's better not to talk about it. Because you can put yourself in trouble and I don't think anyone wants that.”

He added: "It has to do with social media in general, and how the world is. 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."