With a several-week break in which to digest his 10-second penalty during the British Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri knows what he’ll be doing in the future to avoid a repeat.
He also revealed to media that he had an opportunity to speak with the FIA to gain further clarity, which prompted “learning on both sides.”
Oscar Piastri says Silverstone penalty response is ‘simple’
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri looked to hold a definitive lead over the 2025 British Grand Prix until a 10-second penalty squandered his chances of taking a win.
Heading into Lap 22, the safety car pacing the field turned off its lights in anticipation of coming to a restart; from the lead of the race, Piastri braked hard and slowed down from 218 km/h to 52 km/h. Behind him, the field checked up, and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
The stewards determined that the maneuver constituted “erratic” behavior, and Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty as a result. He served this penalty during his final pit stop, during which time Lando Norris drove into the lead of the race.
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Piastri was clearly frustrated after the race, saying, “Apparently you can’t brake behind the safety car anymore. I mean, I did it for five laps before that.”
However, he stopped himself before he said much else by saying, “I’m not going to say too much, because I’ll get myself in trouble.”
With plenty of time to digest the penalty since the race at the start of the month, Piastri seems to have found a more democratic point of view.
Speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Piastri said that he “looked through” the data surrounding his penalty with the team after the race, and that he also had a chance to speak to the FIA for further clarity.
“I think there’s been a lot of learning on both sides,” he stated.
“I think for me, I still have my feelings about it, but it’s in the past now and I’ve moved on.
“I think for me it was a maneuver that had been done before, by myself in some cases but other drivers as well in the past, in an identical manner.
“Obviously if it needs to be penalized now, then that’s fine. I know that for the future. But obviously immediately after the race, I was frustrated.”
He also noted that “we’ve had discussions with the FIA, and like I said, I think there was learning on both sides about how that situation could have been handled differently.”
Though Piastri did not speak for the FIA on its takeaways, he did share his own.
“For myself, I mean, I won’t brake as hard next time,” he explained. “It’s as simple as that.
“I think also now, the threshold is a bit clearer on where that stands. So I will just simply not brake as hard.”
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