Imago
1 Max Verstappen NLD, Oracle Red Bull Racing, F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo by HOCH ZWEI Jeddah Saudi Arabia *** 1 Max Verstappen NLD, Oracle Red Bull Racing , F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Photo by HOCH ZWEI Jeddah Saudi Arabia
Imago
1 Max Verstappen NLD, Oracle Red Bull Racing, F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo by HOCH ZWEI Jeddah Saudi Arabia *** 1 Max Verstappen NLD, Oracle Red Bull Racing , F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 19, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Photo by HOCH ZWEI Jeddah Saudi Arabia
Just when everyone thought things had settled down in the race, it caught us all by surprise. Max Verstappen had a comfortable lead in front, and Lewis Hamilton in P2 was maintaining a healthy gap with Fernando Alonso. Some battles in midfield were heating up, but more or less, it looked like we had the results we were witnessing. Just then, Kevin Magnussen ran into the wall and caused a red flag. The race restart saw absolute carnage ensue behind. But little did we know, the race leader sneakily got away with what could have cost him dearly.
The season opener in Bahrain saw Esteban Ocon take three penalties and the one that started it all was caused by his incorrect positioning on the race start. Alonso became the victim of the rule in the second race as he too positioned his car outside the box.
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Fans allege double standards by FIA as Max Verstappen gets away with a major gaffe
In the photos surfacing from the 2nd restart of the race, it looked like the reigning champion may have positioned his car beyond the yellow line as well. If FIA did notice it and penalized him, the Dutchman certainly wouldn’t have taken the race win home.
However, the ruling body possibly overlooking the incident had fans wondering if rules even apply to Red Bull and Verstappen. Take a look at some reactions from Twitter.
It's Max, rules don't apply to him, therefore he's not even an F1 driver in my book.
— FormulaHobet (@Ant_Hobet_ONE) April 2, 2023
It’s because it’s max 💀
— Courtney❤️🦄 (@xcourtneyjanexx) April 2, 2023
Many fans alleged that FIA had different rule books for different drivers.
different rules for different drivers 🤷🏽♂️
— RESILIÊNCIA 🫡 (@ohyabeautyy) April 2, 2023
Red Bull don't do penalties. We all know.
— Harvey Specter (@Specter__Harvey) April 2, 2023
One fan wanted the ruling body to take notice and apply penalties if any, post-race.
They should announce it after the race no fucking way
— Al'lin Jones (@AllinJones) April 2, 2023
Some ruled out any possibility of any action against Max.
Of course not
It’s Max
FIA has plenty of time to look at this so the podium can actually reflect the result but they won’t and Max will get yet another gift— NR_Garrett (@NR_Garrett) April 2, 2023
IF SAINZ GETS A PENALTY FOR A NULL AND VOID LAP THEN MAX SHOULD GET A PENALTY TOO!!!! pic.twitter.com/zxadwAPoWz
— Rein (@ReinBerglund) April 2, 2023
Some even felt that the FIA will end up changing the rule to avoid giving Verstappen a penalty.
they will modify that rule now. watch😂
— Miss Audee 🦉 (@AudeeGreat) April 2, 2023
I'm sure if Maxi went to the FIA and asked for the lines to be drawn wider, they'd do it too… Ffs
— 𝓐𝓵𝔂𝓼𝓼𝓐 (@_alyssabeth_) April 2, 2023
Watch This Story: F1 Drivers Trying Their Hand at Different Sports
— alonso's front wing (@alonsofrontwing) April 2, 2023
Do you think Max positioned himself further down to give himself an unfair advantage? Has FIA had another big gaffe that could see them face criticism for many more days to come? Is there a bias for Max? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
Written by
Edited by
Varunkumaar Chelladurai