In the chaotic opening lap, several drivers, including Verstappen, failed to properly negotiate Turn 1, going wide or taking the run-off area to avoid contact. No driver received a penalty.
Verstappen initially rejoined ahead of Lewis Hamilton but eventually dropped back and rejoined in fourth.
Brundle claimed Verstappen showed no intention of navigating the corner: “Max should have had a penalty. Max made no effort whatsoever to take Turns one, two or three, and that should have been a penalty.”
He added that Verstappen had “just buried the throttle and carried on,” and that a drive-through would have served as a stronger deterrent to prevent the “chaos” he believed was becoming routine.
Brundle also raised the case of Charles Leclerc, who similarly went off track. He argued Leclerc at least attempted Turn 1 and so merited a lesser but still significant penalty, perhaps a ten-second time penalty.
A drive-through penalty forces a driver to travel through the pit lane at the designated speed limit before rejoining the race, usually costing significant time.
Brundle believed this was appropriate for a four-time world champion like Verstappen in a moment that he felt breached the spirit of racing.
Next on the 2025 F1 calendar is the Brazilian Grand Prix, held at Interlagos in Sao Paulo on 9 November over 71 laps of the 4.309 km circuit.
