The post-race chatter following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has centered on one big topic: Max Verstappen and his controversial first-lap penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage. 

But Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has finally asked the question on many of our minds: Why didn’t Verstappen just give the position back to Oscar Piastri?

Ecclestone’s big Max Verstappen penalty question

Max Verstappen snatched a surprise pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, just pipping McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on Saturday to line up side-by-side on Sunday evening.

Both racers were desperate to push into the lead when the lights went out, with Verstappen gaining the edge into Turn 1 and Piastri returning the favor into Turn 2.

But it was at the second corner that chaos struck. Piastri held an aggressive line, to which Verstappen responded by trying to mount a pass on the inside. There wasn’t enough room, and the reigning champion cut T2 to emerge back on track ahead of Piastri.

The stewards decided shortly after that Piastri was ahead at the corner and slapped Max Verstappen with a five-second penalty to be served at his first pit stop.

The Dutch driver nevertheless managed to come home in second, but with just 2.8 seconds separating him from winner Piastri, that penalty proved to be decisive in determining the podium.

Speaking to Blick, former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone shared his thoughts on the saga — particularly regarding the fact that Verstappen could have avoided a penalty altogether.

“Why didn’t Max just give the position back immediately?” he asked. “Because making up five seconds is usually difficult under normal conditions.”

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko had an answer for the question, which was reporting in Blick: “We had discussed giving back the position in the pits, when the penalty had already been imposed.”

There was, admittedly, very little time for Verstappen to return the position to Piastri. A safety car was necessary moments later due to a tangle between the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, which brought the action to a halt seconds after Verstappen’s slice through Turn 2.

Just as the race was going green again, the FIA announced the penalty.

To have avoided it, Verstappen would have needed to cede the position to Piastri within moments of cutting T4 — but at that point, he still believed that he’d been forced off the track.