McLaren dismiss Red Bull complaints with Lewis Hamilton comparison

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is unwavering in his view of Oscar Piastri's first-corner overtake on Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Australian's strong launch off the line at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit allowed him to position his MCL39 up the inside of the Red Bull, getting his nose alongside through the apex and subsequently claiming the corner.

Verstappen feathered off the brake pedal to fight the corner and had to take to the run-off area on the outside of Turn 1 to preserve his lead after Piastri pushed him wide.

The Dutchman quickly came on the team radio, saying: "There was no intention of his to take that corner."

Except the McLaren driver did make the corner, and Verstappen would not have done so regardless. Thus, it nullified his right to complain, and the stewards intervened, handing down a race-defining five-second time penalty. Had he given the place back, it would have prevented any punishment.

Red Bull, aggrieved by the situation for feeling like its driver acted fairly, confirmed post-race it would not contest the penalty, on the grounds that the team had no new evidence to offer.

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No expected controversy

Whilst sympathetic to the Milton Keynes squad's plight, Stella maintained Piastri acted fairly and was within his rights to claim the corner as he did. In doing so, he lent on a recent comparison to make his case.

"The situation in corner one was very close, in fairness," the Italian told media including RacingNews365. "But this is a business of close, small margins.

"This time, Oscar, thanks to a very good launch off the grid and thanks to positioning the car on the inside, slightly ahead of Max, managing to keep the car within the track limits, then he gained the rights.

"And obviously, in that situation, you can't overtake off track. So I think the case is very clear, and like we did with Lando in Bahrain.

"You may remember that we realised that we overtook Hamilton off the track, even if - kind of - Hamilton drove us off the track.

"But once again, it's Lewis Hamilton. He knows how to race. For us, we just needed to instruct the driver to give the position back."

In Stella's view, there was no case for contentious rhetoric after the grand prix because of how clear-cut the incident was.

"So I think this is a clear case," the 54-year-old added. "It shouldn't create any polemic.

"And if anything, I want to take the opportunity to emphasise how well Oscar is racing. It's clean racing, it's tough racing and extremely precise."