Frustrated Piastri bites his tongue after penalty costs him British GP victory

Oscar Piastri was visibly angry as he removed his helmet after a challenging British Grand Prix, finishing second behind his team-mate Lando Norris, as the Australian was given a 10-second penalty for erratic braking behind the safety car.

On lap 21, behind the second safety car of what was a chaotic race at Silverstone, the Australian driver appeared to brake heavily on the Hangar Straight, resulting in complaints from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen directly behind him. The Dutchman was taken aback by the sudden deceleration as he swerved to avoid Piastri’s gearbox.

“Whoa, mate ****, he just suddenly slows down again,” Verstappen radioed to his team, which Piastri was later given a costly 10-second penalty by the FIA stewards. Taking it during his final pitstop, Piastri was passed by Norris, who finished on the top step of the podium. 

Speaking to Jenson Button directly after the race, Piastri was clearly agitated: “Yeah, I’m not gonna say much. I’ll get myself in trouble, so… well done, to Hulkenberg. I think that’s the highlight of the day, so… yeah, I’ll leave it there.”

He was pressed further on the incident.

“Yeah, I mean, apparently you can’t brake behind the safety car anymore. I mean, I did it for five laps before that and… again, I’m not gonna say too much ’cause I’ll get myself in trouble.

“But thanks to the crowd for a great event. Thanks for sticking through the weather. I still like Silverstone, even if I don’t like it today – so thanks for coming out.”

The conversation continued in the cooldown as Piastri explained the penalty to Nico Hulkenberg.

“I got a 10-second penalty for braking behind the safety car. 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.”

Piastri had dominated the race up until that point, taking the lead from Max Verstappen who started from pole and had been looking for his fifth win this season. But while he drove a commanding race, his efforts were ultimately thwarted.

The points gap between Norris and Piastri now sits at just eight points as the Briton slowly claws back his confidence after a successful Austrian campaign a week ago. 

Zak Brown commented to Sky Sports following the race.

“The safety car seemed like it was called in a bit late. The leader controls… I think Max accelerated, Oscar braked, which made it look worse than it was. The telemetry didn’t look like it looked on TV. But it is what it is,” he said.

“I think any time you get into these penalties, there’s an element of subjectivity. I think when they’re pounding on the brakes, they’re 130-140psi, so trying to get temperature in the tyres, it’s wet, late call – a close one.”