Oscar Piastri’s anger at stewards was misguided – and shows rare weakness in title race

It is seldom we see Oscar Piastri lose his composed, cool-as-a-cucumber persona. What has made the Australian such an impressive championship contender this season at McLaren has been his equanimity and poise in the face of on-track incidents and off-track gossip. Wise beyond his years in just his third season in Formula One, the 24-year-old rarely misses the bigger picture.

Yet Silverstone on Sunday was an anomaly. Piastri received a 10-second time penalty midway through a riveting British Grand Prix, costing him victory to teammate and championship rival Lando Norris. Piastri did the dutiful thing, congratulating his teammate afterwards, but was seething in conversation with Jenson Button below the podium.

“I’m not going to say much, I’ll get myself in trouble,” he quickly said. “Apparently, you can’t brake behind the safety car any more.”

In the customary post-race press conference for the top three finishers, Piastri was a smidge more measured. However, his perplexion was still blatant.

“I don’t really care at the moment,” he said when asked whether he would visit the stewards’ room for clarification.

“It obviously hurts at the moment. A different sort of hurt because I know I deserved a lot more than I got today. I felt like I drove a really strong race. It hurts, especially when it’s not in your control.

“I don’t really get it … I’m a bit confused to say the least.” Unfortunately for Piastri, the registered speeds and telemetry explain why the stewards felt it necessary to take prompt action.

On lap 21, Piastri was leading the race from Verstappen behind the safety car, amid a chaotic and action-packed start in the Northamptonshire rain. When the clerk of the course decided that the safety car should come into the pits, the lights were extinguished on the safety car as Piastri accelerated on the Hangar Straight in sector three.

Yet suddenly, halfway down the straight and feeling the need to create a gap between himself and the safety car with just three turns left, Piastri braked hard. So drastically, in fact, that his speed dropped in an instant from 135mph to 32mph. Needless to say, an erratic change in pace.

Verstappen, with his visibility obstructed anyway by spray from the back of Piastri’s car, didn’t see the change coming, swerving to the right and overtaking Piastri temporarily. The stewards, in their notes, described it as “evasive action”.

The sporting regulations add: “The leader must proceed at a pace which involves no erratic braking nor any other manoeuvre which is likely to endanger other drivers from the point at which the lights on the safety car are turned off.”

By the letter of the law, Piastri falls foul of this.

Button, the 2009 F1 world champion on punditry duties for Sky Sports F1, also believed Piastri’s sudden brake manoeuvre looked “aggressive”.

He added: “If it was in the dry, it might have been alright. But it was wet – and the visibility…”

Piastri’s 10-second punishment was not a surprise when it came through on the FIA noticeboard. At best, it could have been five seconds. And perhaps Verstappen made the most of it. But a penalty in this instance was the correct call, on a busy day for race control. It’s not often we praise the FIA referees but here, an appropriate outcome was reached.

For Piastri, his frustration is understandable. From a potential 22-point lead in the championship to Norris – joyous at winning his home race – the gap is now just eight points heading into Spa-Francorchamps in three weeks.

It was odd seeing the Australian so apoplectic in the aftermath: a rare chink in the armour. But his anger was misguided. And in a title race between two title race novices, it will be another vital lesson learnt.