Max Verstappen ignored F1 tradition on Saudi Arabia Grand Prix podium following penalty

Max Verstappen appeared to 'ignore' a Formula 1 tradition during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix podium ceremony.

The four-time world champion was left seething after he was handed a 5-second penalty for an incident with Oscar Piastri.

Immediately after the lights went out, Verstappen and Piastri headed into the first corner neck and neck.

The McLaren star looked to be alongside Verstappen as the pair battled for P1.

Verstappen had to take action as he went wide and off the track before regaining first position when he rejoined the action.

As a result, the stewards deemed Verstappen at fault and handed him a penalty for 'leaving the track and gaining an advantage'.

In the end, Piastri won the race ahead of Verstappen and Ferrari star Charles Leclerc.

After the race, during the podium ceremony, it is tradition for the drivers to spray champagne in celebration.

However, a video instantly went viral on social media as it showed Verstappen simply taking a sip of his bottle of champagne (sparkling rose water due to Saudi Arabian rules) while the others were spraying eachother.

max verstappen just straight up chugging down the fake champagne😭 pic.twitter.com/sLR6vKt06m

— saint (@stjaem) April 20, 2025

Meanwhile, F1 photographer Kym Illman also spotted Verstappen's reluctance to take part in the podium celebrations.

He wrote on social media: "On the podium it was clear Max was not impressed with the penalty handed down to him during the race tonight. He chose not to take part in the bubbly spraying.

"In the press conference, was up front about not being able to say what he thinks for fear of a penalty."

When quizzed on the penalty, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who brought onboard evidence to dispute the decision, said: "I thought it was very harsh. We didn't concede the position because we didn't believe that we had done anything wrong. You can quite clearly see at the apex of the corner we believe that Max is clearly ahead.

"I can't see how the stewards got to that conclusion. They've both gone in at the same speed. Oscar's run deep into the corner, Max can't just disappear at this point in time."

Horner added: "Perhaps these rules need a re-look at. I don't know what happened to 'let them race' on the first lap. That just seems to have been abandoned."