Max Verstappen expressed his surprise at the “strange” penalty given to Oscar Piastri for a Safety Car rule breach during the British Grand Prix. Red Bull boss Christian Horner also commented, drawing a parallel to George Russell`s incident in Canada last month, where Russell went unpunished.
Piastri received the penalty for suddenly decelerating while leading the pack as the Safety Car was about to enter the pits at the end of lap 21 at Silverstone.
Verstappen initially pulled alongside Piastri, seemingly finding it difficult to slow down enough to stay behind the McLaren. However, moments later, as he tried to match the accelerating leader, Verstappen spun, losing significant positions.
The 10-second penalty handed to Piastri cost him the victory, which went to his teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen, meanwhile, dropped to 10th after his spin but managed to recover to finish fifth.
Verstappen stated:
“I only found out after the race that he got one (a penalty). No one told me during the race. The thing is that it`s happened to me now a few times, this kind of scenario. I just find it strange that suddenly now Oscar is the first one to receive 10 seconds for it.”
Verstappen seemed to be referencing an incident at the Canadian Grand Prix the previous month, where Red Bull appealed against George Russell, claiming the Mercedes driver had driven erratically behind the Safety Car. Russell was cleared and maintained his victory in Canada, with Verstappen finishing second.
When asked if he saw Piastri`s situation differently from Russell`s, Verstappen replied:
“To the stewards, yes.”
Horner “Not Surprised” by Piastri Penalty, Cites Russell Contrast
Christian Horner, Red Bull boss, further criticized the stewards` decision not to penalize Russell in Canada while penalizing Piastri at Silverstone.
Horner stated:
“I wasn`t surprised to see him (Piastri) get a penalty. That was what we would expect. It was probably more surprising that George didn`t get one in Montreal, to be honest with you. But that`s it. Unfortunately, our race unfolded from that point.”
The stewards justified Piastri`s penalty by citing his sudden application of 59.2 psi of brake pressure on Sunday. In contrast, when dismissing Red Bull`s protest against Russell in Canada, the stewards noted that Russell had applied only 30 psi, which they did not consider erratic.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had labeled Red Bull`s protest in Canada as “petty” and “embarrassing,” while Horner later stated he had “no regrets” about pursuing it.
Verstappen: Piastri Incident Didn`t Cause Spin
Despite the incident, Verstappen didn`t blame Piastri for his subsequent spin. He suggested the error was a consequence of his car`s low-downforce setup, which made driving in the wet conditions extremely difficult.
He commented:
“I just tried to go on throttle but the car has been really difficult already up until that point with just trying to find a nice rhythm, and it just caught me out on cold tyres.”
However, Horner seemed to think the incident with Piastri did contribute to unsettling Verstappen just before the spin.
Horner remarked:
“Oscar obviously did what he did on the brakes, on the run up to Stowe. It caught Max out. As you`re preparing to take the restart, it caught him out completely unawares as to what was going on. All your preparation, your switches, everything you don`t manage to get in the right place. Oscar`s then gone, Max is trying to go with him. And obviously he`s had a half-spin out of Stowe.”
Piastri: “It Was the Same as My First Restart”
Piastri considered the penalty harsh, arguing that his actions were identical to his first Safety Car restart earlier in the race.
Piastri explained:
“I hit the brakes. At the same time I did that, the lights on the Safety Car went out, which was also extremely late. And then obviously, I didn`t accelerate because I can control the pace from there. And 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. So, a shame.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown and Team Principal Andrea Stella agreed the penalty was “harsh” on Piastri.
Brown told Sky Sports F1:
“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. 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 130-140 PSI, so trying to get temperature in the tyres, it`s wet, late call – a close one.”
Stella echoed Brown`s point, stating McLaren felt the decision to call the Safety Car in so late in the lap was problematic.
He told Sky Sports F1:
“We certainly gave our input to the race direction, especially related to the fact that we thought the Safety Car was called in relatively late. This didn`t give much space for the leading driver to actually take control of the group and go with the restarting procedure. We think overall that the penalty has been harsh, but we will review the data. Like usual, we will see if there`s any learning from that. At the moment, there`s not much we can do. We just have to take it on the chin.”
