SILVERSTONE, England — Although he managed to temper his responses to the media on Sunday evening, Oscar Piastri`s frustration was still palpable as he answered numerous questions about the 10-second penalty that denied him victory at the British Grand Prix. Likely fearing the potential repercussions from the FIA, he offered brief and simple answers to the TV cameras, refusing to elaborate on the strong emotions he was undoubtedly feeling internally.
Finishing his broadcast media obligations well before his exuberant teammate, race winner Lando Norris, meant Piastri had to wait alone for 25 minutes in the news conference room before the required written media session began. When it eventually commenced, Piastri again carefully navigated the line between openly showing his disappointment and fully expressing his true feelings.
“It obviously hurts at the moment,” he said. “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.”
“And yeah, ultimately when you don`t get the result you think you deserve, it hurts. Especially when it`s not in your control.”
Known for his composed demeanor over team radio and his often understated reactions to race wins, Piastri is well-versed in keeping his emotions in check.
Up until Lap 21 and the second safety car restart, he had executed everything correctly at Silverstone. However, one forceful application of the brakes cost him the victory and swung 14 points in the drivers` standings in Norris` favour.
There seemed to be little doubt on Sunday evening that Piastri did not intend to do anything improper or gain an advantage by catching the driver behind him, Max Verstappen, off guard. A sequence of two back-to-back safety car periods covering seven laps had caused Piastri`s tires and brakes to cool significantly. The most effective way to restore temperature was to brake hard, 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].”
“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, the abrupt braking, coupled with the fact that Piastri did not immediately accelerate afterwards, caught Verstappen, running in second place, by surprise. The Red Bull driver briefly passed the McLaren, inadvertently violating one of the most basic safety car rules by overtaking the lead car.
Initially, it appeared Verstappen might be investigated, but the stewards ultimately focused on Piastri`s actions as the reason for the cars being out of position.
With access to the McLaren`s telemetry, the stewards were able to analyse the precise braking input and accurately measure the 100 mph speed difference before and after his left foot pressed the pedal. Their findings led them to conclude that Piastri had broken another safety car rule that prohibits 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 forbidding erratic driving behind the safety car is designed to prevent chaotic restarts. If the leading driver accelerates and brakes sharply after the safety car has indicated its return to the pits, it can create a `concertina` effect on the cars behind, who are trying to time their own restart, potentially leading to accidents.
While Piastri did not appear to be seeking an advantage over Verstappen – his heavy braking coincided precisely with the safety car turning off its lights, rather than being an attempt to disrupt the Red Bull`s restart after the lights were extinguished – it was a significant deceleration that caused the pack behind to bunch up. Therefore, under a strict interpretation of the sporting regulations, it warranted a penalty.
Predictably, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, who had also reviewed the data before speaking to the media on Sunday evening, suggested the incident had been overblown. He also hinted that Verstappen`s reaction might have made Piastri`s actions look worse than they truly were.
“I have to say that the penalty still looks very harsh,” Stella said. “There`s a few factors that we would like the stewards to take into account.”
“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 mentioned], it`s a pressure that you see during the safety car when you do some braking and acceleration.”
“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,” he added.
“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.”
Verstappen clearly preferred not to delve deeply into the subject when speaking to the media, but he did question why Piastri received a penalty when similar scenarios 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 remarked. “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, referencing a very recent instance where his team`s unsuccessful protest against George Russell after the Canadian Grand Prix provided a precedent. In Montreal, Red Bull accused Russell of erratic driving behind the safety car in an incident that showed clear similarities to Sunday`s, yet the stewards rejected their protest.
“I mean, George obviously didn`t get one in Canada,” Horner stated. “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 two investigations in Canada and Silverstone presented distinct differences: Russell`s brake pressure in Canada was measured at 30 psi, while Piastri`s was nearly twice that. Furthermore, Russell only decelerated by just over 40 mph, whereas Piastri slowed by a full 100 mph.
When considering these details alongside the differing track conditions in both cases and the fact that the incidents occurred at different stages of the safety car restart phase, drawing credible parallels becomes challenging.
In addition, Piastri was eager to emphasize what he perceived as another significant difference between the two incidents.
“I don`t think he [Verstappen] had to evade me,” he commented. “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.”
Should McLaren Have Swapped Drivers?
Piastri`s 10-second penalty meant he emerged from the pits behind Norris after both drivers made their final stops of the race to switch from intermediate to slick tires. Visibly struggling to come to terms with the outcome, Piastri asked if the two drivers could exchange positions, admitting he knew it was unlikely the team would agree.
“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.”
Stella had no issue with his driver raising the possibility and said the pit wall had carefully considered the fairest way for the race to unfold, including one scenario that could still have benefited Piastri.
“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,` he said. `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.”
“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 consequence of the penalty was a significant home win for Norris and the reduction of Piastri`s lead in the drivers` standings to just eight points. This marks Norris` third victory in five races, indicating that the British driver`s championship challenge is rapidly gaining momentum.
Piastri had demonstrated superior pace at the start of the race, making his frustration with the outcome of the stewards` investigation understandable, if not entirely justifiable.
“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.”
