2 months ago
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A fuming Oscar Piastri has broken his silence after he was slapped with a 10-second penalty during the British Grand Prix.
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.
Stewards explained that Max Verstappen was forced to 'take evasive action to avoid a collision', overtaking the Aussie star, before ceding the position back to him.
But under Article 55.15 of the FIA Sporting Regulations, which requires drivers to not brake erratically or perform another manoeuvre that could endanger other drivers from when the lights on the safety car are turned off.
McLaren have a right to appeal the decision.
But a dejected Piastri appeared livid over the decision, refusing to delve into the moment which cost him another victory, with the McLaren star ultimately going on to finish second behind Lando Norris.
'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 pressed on the incident.
'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.'
McLaren team principal Zak Brown appeared to state 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 excellerated, Oscar braked, which made it look worse than it was. The telemetry didn't look like it looked on TV,' Brown explained.
George Russell interestingly kept his race win at the Canadian Grand Prix after Red Bull had lodged two complaints that the Brit had been driving erratically behind the safety car, and had braked too quickly.
Brown was questioned on how Russell had braked with 30psi of pressure in that situation but 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.'
More to follow...
