Max Verstappen cuts short awkward Saudi Arabian GP interview after Oscar Piastri question

Max Verstappen was caught up in an awkward interview with David Coulthard after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Dutchman told the former Red Bull driver that he was going to 'keep it short' after being asked about his lap-one incident with Oscar Piastri. Verstappen started the race from pole position, but got a difficult launch on the outside lane. Piastri, meanwhile, was strong out of the blocks and pipped the four-time world champion to the apex on the approach to Turn One.

Verstappen kept his foot in the gas and drew level around the outside, but in doing so, he went off the track. Piastri stayed on the circuit, while Verstappen scampered across the run-off area and retained the lead. After a brief investigation, the stewards hit him with a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. This handed the lead to the McLaren driver through the pit stop cycle, and from there, he controlled the tempo.

After climbing out of the cockpit, Verstappen faced Coulthard for the customary post-race interview. However, when he was asked about the Turn One incident, he was visibly unimpressed.

"I'm going to keep it quite short," Verstappen stated. "I just want to say a big thank you to the fans here in Jeddah. It's been a great weekend. I love the track. The rest, it is what it is. I'm looking forward to Miami, so I will see you there."

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Drivers typically do three to four questions in the initial post-race interviews, but Verstappen was content with one answer. He gave an exaggerated smile to Coulthard before walking away from the cameras.

The awkwardness didn't end there, either. In the cooldown room, Verstappen sat silent in his chair, only contributing to the conversation when directly prompted by Piastri and Charles Leclerc, who rounded off the rostrum with Ferrari's first podium finish of the season.

Offering his stance on the incident, Piastri said: "Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn One in second. I tried my best. Obviously, the stewards had to get involved.

"But I thought I was plenty far enough up. And in the end, that’s what got me the race. So, I’m very happy with all the work we’ve been doing at the starts, and that’s what won us the race today."