SILVERSTONE, England — Despite tempering his public comments on Sunday evening, Oscar Piastri couldn`t entirely conceal his emotions when repeatedly questioned about the 10-second penalty that denied him victory at the British Grand Prix. Cautious of potentially incurring the FIA`s displeasure, his brief, simple answers to television crews deliberately avoided delving into the deep frustration he likely felt internally.
Finishing his media duties well before his triumphant teammate, race winner Lando Norris, Piastri spent 25 minutes alone in the press conference room awaiting the written media session. When it began, he again carefully navigated the line between acknowledging his frustration and fully expressing his true feelings.
“It obviously hurts at the moment,” he stated. “It`s a different hurt, though, because I know I deserved a lot more than what I got today. I felt like I drove a really strong race.” He added that it hurts “especially when it`s not in your control.”
Known for his calm demeanor on the radio and subdued reactions even to victories, Piastri is adept at keeping his emotions in check.
Until Lap 21 and a second safety car restart, he had executed a perfect race at Silverstone. However, a single heavy braking action cost him not only the win but also a significant 14-point swing in the championship standings in Norris`s favor.
There was little suggestion Sunday evening that Piastri intended to gain an unfair advantage or deliberately catch Max Verstappen behind him off guard. A sequence of two safety car periods over seven laps had caused Piastri`s tires and brakes to cool. A common method to rebuild temperature is to brake heavily, utilizing the heat generated by the glowing carbon discs.
“I hit the brakes,” Piastri explained. “At the same time I did that, the lights on the safety car went out, which was also extremely late [around the lap].” He continued, “And then obviously, I didn`t accelerate because I can control the pace from there. And, yeah, you saw the result. I didn`t do anything differently to my first restart. I didn`t go any slower. I didn`t do anything differently.”
However, this sharp deceleration, combined with Piastri not immediately accelerating afterward, caught second-place Verstappen by surprise. The Red Bull driver briefly moved past the McLaren, an action that constitutes overtaking under safety car rules.
Initially, it appeared Verstappen might be investigated, but the stewards ultimately focused on Piastri`s actions as the root cause of the cars overlapping.
Accessing the McLaren`s telemetry, the stewards could precisely analyze the braking input and measure the significant speed reduction. This analysis led them to conclude that Piastri had violated another safety car regulation prohibiting erratic driving.
A statement from the stewards read:
“When the clerk of the course had declared that the safety car was coming in that lap and the lights were extinguished, Car 81 suddenly braked hard (59.2 psi of brake pressure) and reduced speed in the middle of the straight between T14 and T15, from 218 kph (135 mph) to 52 kph (32 mph), resulting in Car 1 having to take evasive action to avoid a collision. This momentarily resulted in Car 1 unavoidably overtaking Car 81, a position which he gave back immediately. Article 55.15 of the FIA Sporting Regulations required Car 81 to proceed at a pace which involved no erratic braking nor any other maneuver which is likely to endanger other drivers from the point at which the lights on the safety car are turned off. What Car 81 did was clearly a breach of that article.”
The rule against erratic driving behind the safety car is in place to prevent chaotic restarts. If the leading car accelerates and brakes suddenly after the safety car has indicated it`s pitting, it can create a dangerous concertina effect down the field as drivers try to time their own restart, potentially leading to collisions.
While Piastri`s heavy braking appeared to coincide with the safety car lights turning off, rather than being a deliberate attempt to disrupt the restart *after* the lights were out, his significant deceleration undeniably caused cars behind him to bunch up. Therefore, under a strict interpretation of the regulations, it warranted a penalty.
Unsurprisingly, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, who reviewed the data before speaking to the media, felt the incident had been exaggerated. He also hinted that Verstappen`s actions might have made Piastri`s move appear worse than it was.
“I have to say that the penalty still looks very harsh,” Stella commented. “There`s a few factors that we would like the stewards to take into account.”
He continued, “First of all, the safety car was pulled in very late, not leaving much time for the leader to actually restart in conditions in which you lose higher temperature, you lose brake temperature and the same goes for everyone. The 50 bar [brake pressure], it`s a pressure that you see during the safety car when you do some braking and acceleration.” Stella also added, “We`ll have to see also if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is, because we know that as part of the race craft of some competitors, definitely there`s also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not.”
Despite his reservations, Stella acknowledged, “So, a few things to review, but in itself now the penalty has been decided, has been served and we move on. We will see if there`s anything to learn on our side, and I`m sure Oscar will use this motivation for being even more determined for the races to come and trying to win as many races as possible.”
Max Verstappen was clearly reluctant to discuss the incident at length but did question why Piastri received a penalty when similar situations in the past had gone unpunished.
“You know, the thing is that it happened to me now a few times, this kind of scenario,” Verstappen stated. “I just find it strange that suddenly now Oscar is the first one to receive 10 seconds for it.”
The issue of consistency was also raised by Red Bull principal Christian Horner, who referenced his team`s recent unsuccessful protest against George Russell after the Canadian Grand Prix. In Montreal, Red Bull alleged Russell drove erratically behind the safety car in an incident bearing similarities to Sunday`s, but the stewards dismissed their protest.
“I mean, George obviously didn`t get one in Canada,” Horner said. “I wasn`t surprised to see [Piastri] get a penalty. That was what you would expect. It was probably more surprising that George didn`t get one in Montreal, to be honest with you.”
However, the stewards` findings from the investigations in Canada and Silverstone highlighted clear differences: Russell`s brake pressure in Canada was measured at 30 psi, significantly lower than Piastri`s 59.2 psi, and Russell decelerated by just over 40 mph compared to Piastri`s 100 mph reduction. Coupled with different track conditions and phases of the safety car restart, the stewards found sufficient basis to distinguish between the two incidents.
Furthermore, Piastri emphasized what he felt was another key difference between the two events.
“I don`t think he [Verstappen] had to evade me,” he claimed. “I think he managed the first time [under the first safety car]. Going back to Canada, I think you had to evade more there than you did today. So, yeah, I`m a bit confused, to say the least.”
Could McLaren Have Switched Drivers?
Piastri`s 10-second penalty resulted in him exiting the pits behind Norris after both drivers switched from intermediate to slick tires. Clearly finding the outcome difficult to accept, Piastri inquired if the team could arrange a position swap, acknowledging he expected the answer to be negative.
“I thought I would ask the question,” he explained after the race. “I knew what the answer was going to be before I asked, but I just wanted a small glimmer of hope that maybe I could get it back. But no, I knew it wasn`t going to happen.”
Andrea Stella was supportive of Piastri asking, stating the team encourages drivers to voice their thoughts. He explained the pit wall`s careful consideration of fairness, noting one scenario that would have benefited Piastri. He said, “As part of the way we go racing together with Lando and Oscar, we always tell our drivers, `Don`t keep things in the back of your mind when you drive.` `If you have a point, if you have a suggestion, if you want to let us know what you`re thinking, just say it. And then we will evaluate it a bit more, we will make a decision, we will come back to you.`”
“So I think what Oscar did is exactly what we incentivized our drivers to do. He communicated, he expressed his opinion, which we evaluated. In reality, the way we managed the situation today, given the penalty, was to allow Oscar, despite the penalty, in case of a safety car, to retain the lead because if there was a safety car, both cars would have pitted [together] and Oscar would have paid the penalty while Lando would have waited, and the two McLarens would have gone out in the same order as they came in.”
Stella concluded, “But at the point in which we needed to have the transition to the dry tires, then the penalty was taken, and at that stage we thought that we should just retain the natural order again to the penalty. So I think this was fair, and I`m sure that Oscar will understand and agree with this point of view.”
The penalty`s direct consequence was a popular home victory for Lando Norris and a reduction of Piastri`s lead in the drivers` standings to just eight points, giving significant momentum to Norris`s championship challenge. Piastri had demonstrated superior pace at the start of the race, making his frustration at the stewards` decision understandable, even if the penalty itself was technically defensible under the rules.
“The whole team did a really good job, the car was obviously mega, and giving myself credit, I feel like I did a good job today,” he reflected. “It just makes it more painful when you don`t win.”
Dominic Ashworth