McLaren F1 star Oscar Piastri has issued a verdict over whether he or his papaya team would be questioning the penalty handed to him at last weekend’s British Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old first stole the lead off Max Verstappen at the iconic Silverstone track on lap eight of Sunday’s race, but after the safety car was deployed twice, the championship leader found himself in hot water with the stewards.
The first safety car came as a result of the horrendous weather conditions, but the second was triggered when Racing Bulls star Isack Hadjar rear-ended the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli on the restart on lap 18.
On lap 21, the safety car lights went out and Piastri unexpectedly braked, dropping from 218 kph to 52 kph, causing Verstappen to take evasive action.
“Woah mate, ****, he just suddenly again slows down,” Verstappen declared over team radio, thankfully reacting to Piastri’s strange braking behaviour as it sent waves through the rest of the pack.
The McLaren driver was then slapped with a 10-second time penalty and two additional penalty points, ruining his chances of victory, and bringing out a rattled side to the star which has rarely been seen in his short career.
Max Verstappen was thrown off by Oscar Piastri’s erratic braking at Silverstone
Piastri ‘doesn’t care’ to fight back over FIA penalty
The Aussie racer adopted a sunken figure for the remainder of his grand prix duties, appearing to be livid in the cooldown room, on the podium, and during the post-race press conference.
When joined by home hero Lando Norris and first-time podium sitter Nico Hulkenberg, Piastri was asked in the FIA media event whether he would be seeking further clarification over his penalty, essentially protesting it.
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s worth doing at the moment. I’m not sure it’s going to be very constructive in all honesty. I don’t know. But I don’t really care at the moment.” Discussing how long it would take him to get over the disappointment of Sunday’s race, Piastri responded: “I don’t know. It obviously hurts at the moment. 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.
“Ultimately, when you don’t get the result you think you deserve, it hurts, especially when it’s not in your control,” he concluded.
