Christian Horner blasted over photographic evidence in Verstappen's defence

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner’s photographic defence of Max Verstappen's first-corner collision with Oscar Piastri in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix has been heavily criticised.

At the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during a Formula 1 race at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Red Bull’s Verstappen and McLaren driver Piastri collided at Turn 1, which divided the audience into two groups, as whether the five-second penalty handed to Verstappen for going off-track was justified.

In the post-race media conference, Horner tried to defend Verstappen with photographic ‘evidence’ in which the four-time world champion was seen ahead under braking.

Former F1 steward Johnny Herbert has strongly rejected Horner’s attempt to defend Verstappen describing it as  "a load of baloney".

"Horner came up with the picture of evidence to show who was in front in Turn 1, which was a load of baloney," said Herbert.

"To me, it was passing the buck to the FIA and the stewards. It's wrong, it shouldn't be like that. Red Bull had a chance to give the place back, but they chose not to.

"Kimi Antonelli did something very similar with Charles Leclerc, same corner, same lap, but he gave the position back.

"If Verstappen had given the position back, he probably would have won the race, but instead, they took a risky strategy of trying to get the five-second penalty by being at the front with a clear track.

"If it were the speedy Red Bull car from two or three years ago, they would have probably gotten away with it, but the McLaren and Piastri were able to keep up."

Herbert thinks that Verstappen was given a penalty rightly, and believes that if the rules were applied correctly he could have been handed a 10-second penalty instead.

For the unversed, Piastri emerged victorious at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Monday, securing his third win of the season and taking the lead in the Formula One World Championship from McLaren teammate Lando Norris.