McLaren hint the FIA are to blame for the 10-second time penalty handed to Oscar Piastri at the 2025 British GP after the Australian was punished for driving erratically, almost causing a crash with Max Verstappen.
The moment came on Lap 21 when the 23-year-old was following the safety car on the Hangar Straight before it was pulled into the pits to get the green flag racing back underway on June 6.
Piastri, then becoming the de facto safety car, braked hard to control the field behind was believed to be his right as the leader – so that he could dictate when the racing got back in motion.
However, as he did so, that caught out the Red Bull behind and he nearly ran into the back of the leader, but managed to dodge out of the way and immediately complained over the radio.
The FIA felt it was too dangerous and handed Piastri a 10-second penalty at the 2025 British GP but McLaren feel the governing body is to blame for calling in the safety car too late and without enough warning.
“We certainly gave our input to the race direction,” Andrea Stella, team principal, told Sky Sports F1. “Especially related to the fact that we thought the Safety Car was called in relatively late.
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“This didn’t give much space for the leading driver to actually take control of the group and go with the restarting procedure.
“We think overall that the penalty has been harsh, but we will review the data. Like usual, we will see if there’s any learning from that. At the moment, there’s not much we can do.
“We just have to take it on the chin. A tough one for Oscar because he drove very well today. But it’s just mid-season. Many more opportunities and I think this will give Oscar more motivation.”
What did Oscar Piastri say about his time penalty at 2025 British GP?
After initially considering challenging the decision in the middle of the race with available telemetry, McLaren eventually took the penalty with Piastri during the swap from intermediate tyres to slick tyres.
This handed Lando Norris, the Aussie’s title rival, the lead in the other MCL39 and it was a lead he would hold until the chequered flag on Lap 52 as the Brit won his home Grand Prix for the first ever time.
In the process, he cut his teammate’s championship lead down to eight points as the sport hits the middle part of the Formula 1 calendar and Piastri was far from impressed during his post-race interview.
“I’m not going to say much. I’ll get myself in trouble,” Piastri told F1 TV after the race. “Well done to Nico. I think that’s the highlight of the day.
“Apparently you can’t brake behind the Safety Car any more. I did it for five laps before that.
“I’m not going to say much because I’ll get myself in trouble. I still like Silverstone, even if I don’t like it today…”
What did the FIA say as they handed Piastri the penalty?
The moment mirrored a very similar situation at the 2025 Canadian GP when Mercedes’ George Russell also braked at the end of the safety car period and Verstappen shot past him.
Again, as the leader, he was entitled to do so although he braked with 30 PSI, which was deemed on the limit at the time. Piastri stopped with twice that amount at 60 PSI and considering poor visibility too, it was deemed too dangerous.
