McLaren’s Oscar Piastri expressed deep frustration after a 10-second penalty cost him a potential victory at the British Grand Prix, handing the win to teammate Lando Norris in a rain-soaked race at Silverstone. The Australian, who led much of the race, was penalized for a safety car infringement, a decision he labeled as “unfair” and overly harsh.
The incident occurred on lap 21 during a safety car period, when Piastri, leading the race, braked sharply at the end of the Hangar Straight, dropping his speed from 218 km/h to 52 km/h with 59.2 psi of brake pressure. The move forced Max Verstappen, running second, to take evasive action, momentarily passing Piastri before spinning at the next corner. The FIA stewards deemed Piastri’s braking “erratic,” breaching Article 55.15 of the Sporting Regulations, which prohibits maneuvers likely to endanger other drivers during a safety car period. The penalty, served during Piastri’s final pit stop on lap 43, dropped him behind Norris, who secured his first home Grand Prix win.
“I’m not going to say much. I’ll get myself into trouble,” Piastri said post-race, visibly frustrated as he removed his helmet. “Apparently you can’t brake behind the safety car anymore. I did it for five laps before.” He argued the braking was consistent with his earlier laps to warm his tires in the wet conditions, and the timing of the safety car’s lights going out caught him off guard. “I hit the brakes basically as the lights went out on the safety car, so then I didn’t accelerate, and apparently that gets you a 10-second penalty,” he told Motorsport.com.
Piastri’s championship lead over Norris shrank to eight points after the race, intensifying their title battle. He radioed McLaren during the race, asking if they would swap positions with Norris to offset the penalty, but the team declined. Reflecting later, Piastri admitted a swap would have been unfair to Norris. “I thought I would ask the question,” he said in the post-race press conference. “I didn’t get the result I deserved, but it would not have been fair on Lando to lose victory.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella defended Piastri, calling the penalty “very harsh” and suggesting the stewards should have considered the wet conditions and late safety car call. “We need to review what we could’ve done better, because it wasn’t the right call in the end,” Piastri said, praising the team’s otherwise strong performance. “We did everything else right, pace was phenomenal.”
Red Bull’s Christian Horner, however, supported the stewards’ decision, noting similarities to an unpunished incident involving George Russell in Canada. “I wasn’t surprised to see him get a penalty,” Horner said, citing the significant brake pressure and Verstappen’s evasive action. Verstappen himself called the penalty “extreme” but questioned its consistency compared to prior incidents.
Nico Hulkenberg, who secured his first podium in third, highlighted the ripple effect of Piastri’s maneuver, nearly causing further incidents down the field. “It was a bit of a chain reaction,” Hulkenberg told Crash.net, offering insight into the stewards’ rationale.
Despite the setback, Piastri remained optimistic about future races. “I can’t change it,” he told Sky Sports. “We’ll see if there’s anything to learn on our side, and I’ll use this as motivation to win as many races as possible.”