A fuming Oscar Piastri has broken his silence after he was slapped with a 10-second penalty during the British Grand Prix.
His team-mate Lando Norris would go on to clinch his first British Grand Prix victory, as Piastri slumped to second place.
FIA officials stated that Piastri had ‘erratically braked on the straight before turn 15 when the Safety Car lights were extinguished’.
Stewards reviewed the system stating that he had braked hard, with approximately 59.2 psi of brake pressure, reducing his speed from 218kph to 52kph.
They explained that Max Verstappen was forced to ‘take evasive action to avoid a collision’, overtaking the Aussie star before the Dutch driver ceded the position back to Piastri.
But the McLaren driver, who leads the Formula One World Championship, was penalised under Article 55.15 of the FIA Sporting Regulations, which requires drivers not to brake erratically or perform another manoeuvre that could endanger other drivers when the lights on the safety car are turned off.
Oscar Piastri (pictured) fumed following the British Grand Prix, as he was handed a 10-second penalty by race officials, which ultimately cost him victory
Lando Norris (second from right) claimed victory at his home race, while Nico Hulkenberg (right) claimed his first-ever podium finish as Piastri (second from left) came second
Despite the contentious moment, Piastri soon had a smile back on his face after the race as he wiped champagne from his eyes
McLaren have a right to appeal the decision.
A dejected Piastri appeared livid when he was pressed on the matter on Sunday afternoon, but at first refused to delve into the moment which cost him victory.
‘I’m not going to say much I’ll get myself in trouble,’ he fumed to Sky Sports.
‘Well done to Nico [Hulkenberg]. I think that’s the highlight of the day. I’ll live with it.
‘Apparently, you can’t break behind the safety car anymore,’ he added when quizzed again on the penalty.
‘I did it for five laps before that… but I’m not going to say too much because 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. Thanks for coming out everyone.’
Piastri (left) was also seen congratulating his team-mate Norris (right) after the race
Piastri then appeared for a follow up interview with Sky Sports, where he was asked to present his case to the stewards over the matter.
Piastri flatly replied: ‘Ah I really can’t be bothered. There’s no point, I can’t change it.’
‘I did what I did at the first restart. Apparently one needed a penalty and one didn’t. I’m still surprised.
‘The team did a great job and we had a great car. But from my side of the garage we did everything we needed too. But good points for the team.’
On the application of the rules, he added: ‘I don’t really understand it, I need to look back and see but I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong.’
McLaren team principal Zak Brown appeared to feel that the decision was a harsh one, adding that from his point of view, there were several factors that made the moment look worse than it actually was on television.
‘I mean 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,’ Brown explained.
George Russell kept his race win at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this year after Red Bull had lodged complaints that the Brit had been driving erratically behind the safety car.
Norris was judged to have braked too harshly after the safety car was called out, but had forced Max Verstappen to evade him
Brown was asked about how that incident compared to Piastri’s situation today, but he added: ‘I think any time you get into these penalties there’s an element of subjectivity. When they’re pounding on the brakes they’re 130 and 140psi.
‘Trying to get temperature in the tyres, it’s wet and there’s a late call… it’s a close one.’
Brown also asked Jenson Button for his take on the matter and the ex-Formula One driver replied saying: ‘The biggest issue was that when the safety car put its lights out, Oscar had just started accelerating. 60mph to 130mph in the blink of an eye. And in that point he’s like: “I need to slow down, there’s a safety car in front of me”.’
Just eight points now separate Brown’s drivers, Piastri and Lando Norris, with Formula One set to return on July 27 for the Belgian Grand Prix.
