Oscar Piastri has conceded that it would not have been just to his teammate Lando Norris if McLaren had agreed to his request to swap their positions back during the British Grand Prix. Piastri had lost the lead following a disputed penalty.
The Australian driver, who currently leads the championship standings, was notably unhappy with the 10-second sanction handed down by race stewards. The penalty was issued for an incident just before the Safety Car restart on lap 22, where officials deemed he had braked excessively hard in front of Max Verstappen on the Hangar Straight.
The penalty had to be served during Piastri`s subsequent pit stop. He was only two seconds ahead of Norris when he came in for slick tyres. The 10-second stop-go meant Piastri`s car remained stationary in the pit box for the penalty duration before any work could be done. This time loss allowed Norris, who pitted a lap later, to emerge ahead and ultimately secure the victory.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also expressed dissatisfaction with the stewards` ruling, later describing it as “very harsh”. With seven laps remaining, Piastri inquired over the team radio whether they would consider reversing the positions, especially if the team shared his view that the penalty was unfair. However, his race engineer responded three laps later, confirming that no team orders would be issued.
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Piastri maintained his frustration regarding the penalty, believing it cost him a likely victory in his tight championship battle with Norris. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that a position swap would not have been fair to Lando.
“I thought I would ask the question,” said Piastri. “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.”
“I don`t think there was anything wrong with it [the request]. Lando didn`t do anything wrong. I don`t think it would have been particularly fair to have swapped, but I thought I would at least ask.”
McLaren Welcomed Piastri`s Request Despite Decision Not to Swap
Team boss Andrea Stella explained that McLaren encourages open communication from its drivers, which is why Piastri`s request to swap was welcomed, even if not granted.
Stella elaborated that while the pit wall team discussed Piastri`s suggestion, they ultimately decided against altering the track order. He clarified the team`s initial approach: they allowed Piastri to maintain the lead after the penalty in the hope that a subsequent Safety Car period might occur, which would have allowed both cars to pit simultaneously, with Piastri serving his penalty without losing track position relative to Norris.
“The way we handled the situation today given the penalty was to allow Oscar, despite the penalty, in case of a Safety Car to retain the lead,” Stella explained. “If there was a Safety Car, both cars would have pitted [at the same time], Oscar would have paid the penalty, Lando would have waited and the two McLarens would have gone out in the same corner as they came in.”
However, when the time came for the necessary transition to slick tyres and a Safety Car did not appear, the penalty`s effect became unavoidable. Stella stated, “But at the point in which we needed to have the transition of the dry tyres, then the penalty was made, and at that stage we thought that we should just retain the natural order. So I think this was fair for both, and I`m sure that Oscar will understand and agree to this point of view.”
