Max Verstappen says Oscar Piastri did not deserve the 10 second penalty that cost him victory at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lando Norris claimed victory at his home grand prix after a chaotic race at Silverstone, closing the gap in the title race to his teammate Piastri who finished second.
Miraculously, Nico Hulkenberg finished third after starting 19th, picking up his first podium in F1 after 15 years and 239 races.
The deciding point came at a safety car restart when race leader Piastri braked harshly, with Verstappen, unsighted because of spray, nearly running into the back of the McLaren.
Stewards were unimpressed by the Australian’s driving and issued a 10 second time penalty, which he served during his final pitstop, allowing Norris to overtake and win.
The usually level-headed Piastri was left incensed by the penalty and losing the lead, initially calling for McLaren to swap him and Norris around on the track, a request that was quickly shut down.
‘I got a 10 second-penalty for braking behind the Safety Car,’ he said post-race. 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.’
While many agreed Piastri was in the wrong, the severity of the punishment was questioned, not least – and somewhat surprisingly – by Verstappen.
‘I only found out after the race that he got one. No one told me during the race,’ the Red Bull driver, who finished fifth after starting on pole, said.
‘It happened to me a few times now, that people do that [brake harshly under the safety car] in front of me.
Why did Oscar Piastri get a 10-second penalty
‘The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence,’ an FIA statement 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 [Piastri] 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 to 52 kph, resulting in Car 1 [Verstappen] 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 manoeuvre 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. In accordance with the penalty guidelines, we imposed a 10 second time penalty to Car 81.’
‘I just find it strange that suddenly now Oscar is the first one to receive 10 seconds for it. That is also very, very extreme, 10 seconds.
‘But oh well, I don’t make the rules.’
Verstappen refers to a similar incident at the Canadian Grand Prix last month, where George Russell braked under the safety car, catching the Dutchman out, though nowhere near as dangerously as Piastri.
After Russell won the race ahead of Verstappen, Red Bull filed an appeal against the result, claiming that Russell deserved a penalty but the stewards opted not to punish the Mercedes driver.
‘I thought the penalty was pretty bad but, anyway, I’m glad we had a quick car today, showed what I needed to prove, and it’s just disappointing when what you deserve gets taken from you, but that’s how it goes,’ Piastri later added.
‘I hit the brakes, saw the Safety Car lights went off so I didn’t accelerate again, and Max went past me which was a bit strange, and then I got a penalty for it so about as simple as that.”
‘The pace was good, I did everything I needed to, just didn’t get the result I deserved.’
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