Red Bull has officially ruled out protesting the penalty issued to Max Verstappen at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was handed a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage after the polesitter escaped to the Turn 1 run-off in a failed attempt to thwart Oscar Piastri’s advances.
According to reports by Motorsport.com, Red Bull, which, per the sporting regulations, had 96 hours to submit a right of review, has opted against protesting the steward’s verdict.
Post-race, Red Bull and Verstappen felt there was injustice carried out, with the Dutchman eventually losing to Piastri by 2.6s.
“Obviously, we spoke to the stewards after the race. They think it was a slam dunk,” Horner said post-race.
“The problem is, if we’re to protest it, then they’re going to most likely hold their line.
“We’ll ask them to have a look at the onboard footage that wasn’t available at the time.”
The Red Bull boss concluded, “It’s highly unlikely,” when asked if the team would protest.
The last time a right of review was carried out was when McLaren sought to protest a five-second penalty awarded to Lando Norris at the 2024 United States GP in Austin, Texas.
On that occasion, Norris, run to the circuit’s edge by Verstappen at Turn 12 of the Circuit of the Americas, overtook the Red Bull driver via the run-off.
The stewards took a dim view of Norris’ actions and later did not uphold McLaren’s protest.
READ MORE – McLaren: Red Bull should’ve told Max Verstappen to cede lead in F1 Saudi GP
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