Former Ferrari F1 boss suggests enticing rule CHANGE after Verstappen drama

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Saudi Arabia, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Former Ferrari boss suggests enticing rule CHANGE after Verstappen drama

Max Verstappen struggled to get away at the start

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 23 April 2025 11:55

Former Ferrari general manager-turned YouTube pundit Peter Windsor has called for a Formula 1 rule change, after Max Verstappen's controversial start at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen got away poorly during Sunday's race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit having started on pole, resulting in him taking drastic action to try and stay ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

While Verstappen did stay ahead of Piastri into turn one, the Dutchman went off-track to do so, prompting the race stewards to slap him with a five-second time penalty, with Piastri eventually going on to win the race by a comfortable margin.

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Verstappen was not happy with the awarding of the penalty, and once again gave very abrupt answers to questions from the media post-race.

However, it was Verstappen's poor start that put him into the position in the first place, with Piastri alongside the four-time world champion before they had even reached the first corner.

Now, Windsor has stated that that may have been because of the line that is given to drivers starting second at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, suggesting a rule change should be implemented post-qualifying.

"I've been banging on for I don't know how long about how the polesitter should on the Saturday night be allowed then to choose which side of the grid from which he wants to start," Windsor explained on his YouTube channel.

"I say that because there are certain circuits on the calendar where you're almost better off to be qualifying second, this may well have been one of them, another one that springs to mind is Austin and Brazil is another circuit where if you are on the inside, it's a very short run just like Jeddah.

"If you are on the inside, you only need to make a mediocre start to have the inside running going into the first corner and to control things. As it was, Oscar Piastri had an excellent start from the inside, Max was on the outside, admittedly on the clean side, but already Oscar was alongside him even before they got to the braking area."

Should polesitters be given the choice of lines?

While Verstappen's poor getaway didn't help, the fact that Piastri had the inside line heading into the first corner gave him the option to be able to position his car in a way that would require a brilliant move from Verstappen to stay ahead.

Due to McLaren's early season pace advantage over Red Bull, it was crucial for Verstappen to try to maintain his first spot into the first corner, hence the off-track manoeuvre which saw him penalised.

If Verstappen had the inside line, maybe he would have got away with his slow start off the line, but Piastri managed to get the better of the Dutchman for the third time already in 2025.

Verstappen now sits 12 points behind Piastri, currently third in the drivers' championship standings.

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Max Verstappen Formula 1 Oscar Piastri Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Peter Windsor Jeddah Corniche Circuit