According to the stewards, the ‘harsh’ Oscar Piastri penalty came as a result of his “erratic braking” behind the safety car during Formula 1‘s British Grand Prix.
The young Australian driver was slapped with a severe 10-second penalty which cost him a potential victory at Silverstone and slashed his championship lead down to 8 points.
The incident unfolded during a chaotic, mixed-weather race that had already seen multiple safety car deployments and rapidly changing track conditions.
Oscar Piastri who had started from second on the grid displayed remarkable composure and skill, as he proceeded to overtake Max Verstappen early in the race and build a commanding lead.
By lap 21 of 52, Piastri was firmly in control at the front of the pack, navigating the treacherous conditions with apparent ease.
However, as the safety car prepared to return to the pits and the race was set to resume Piastri’s actions in the crucial moments before the restart would come under intense scrutiny from the stewards.
As the safety car lights were extinguished on the Hangar Straight to signal race resumption, Piastri suddenly applied the brakes with huge force. Data released by the FIA revealed that he used 59.2 psi of brake pressure, slowing his McLaren from a high speed of 218 km/h down to just 52 km/h in a very short distance.
The abrupt deceleration caught second-placed Max Verstappen off guard, forcing the four-time world champion to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
Verstappen who judged Piastri was about to accelerate, had himself begun to speed up, only to be confronted with the McLaren’s sudden reduction in speed.
The confusion later saw Verstappen spin at Stowe and drop down to 10th, with the series of incidents posing significant ramifications for both drivers and the race as a whole.
The stewards quickly launched an investigation into the incident, reviewing telemetry data and video footage from multiple angles.
Their assessment concluded that Piastri’s braking was “erratic” and in violation of Article 55.15 of the sporting regulations, which requires drivers to avoid unpredictable maneuvers or actions that could endanger others once the safety car lights are out.
The stewards determined that Piastri’s actions had crossed the line of permissible conduct, as the severity and abruptness of his braking created a hazardous situation for the drivers behind him, most notably Verstappen.
In accordance with the penalty guidelines, the stewards imposed a 10-second time penalty on Piastri due to be served on his next pit stop. The penalty was accompanied by two penalty points on his super license, further underscoring the seriousness with which the FIA viewed the infringement.
The impact of Oscar Piastri penalty was immediate and profound as he was forced to relinquish his advantage as race leader who was poised to claim a crucial victory in his championship campaign.
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After serving the penalty in the pits he rejoined the race behind his teammate Lando Norris, ultimately finishing in second place and seeing his lead in the drivers’ standings shrink to just eight points.
Piastri himself was visibly frustrated by the outcome, insisting that he had not done anything differently compared to previous safety car restarts during the race.
In post-race interviews, the McLaren driver argued that his braking was consistent and that the late extinguishing of the safety car lights had contributed to the confusion.
“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 and then obviously I didn’t accelerate because I can control the pace from there.
“And yeah, you saw the results. 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.”
