Oscar Piastri penalized, George Russell not: stewards clarify post-Safety Car decisions. Oscar Piastri penalized 10 seconds and 2 points at Silverstone after Safety Car incident with Max Verstappen.

Australian driver Oscar Piastri received a 10-second time penalty and was handed two penalty points on his FIA super licence following the 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The penalty was issued due to an incident that took place during the Safety Car restart phase of the race. The race stewards later provided an explanation for their decision, highlighting key differences between this situation and a similar one involving George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Sudden braking and risk of collision

According to the official report issued by the FIA stewards, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri executed what they described as “erratic braking” on the straight leading into Turn 15, immediately after the Safety Car lights were turned off. Telemetry data revealed that Oscar Piastri applied the brakes with a force measuring 59.2 psi, which caused his car to decelerate sharply from 218 km/h to just 52 km/h in a short space of time.

This sudden and significant reduction in speed forced the car behind—identified as the Red Bull Racing machine driven by reigning World Champion Max Verstappen—to take evasive action in order to avoid a collision. The Dutch driver momentarily overtook Oscar Piastri during the manoeuvre but subsequently returned the position to the McLaren driver, as required by the sporting regulations.

The stewards referred to Article 55.15 of the FIA Sporting Regulations, which states that drivers must maintain a consistent pace and must not carry out actions that could endanger cars behind them during a Safety Car restart. Based on this regulation and the available data, the stewards opted to apply a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points to Oscar Piastri’s licence.

Comparison with George Russell and Piastri’s frustration

The decision sparked debate and controversy, especially when compared to a similar case involving Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver George Russell during the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix. In that instance, George Russell was cleared of wrongdoing after the stewards determined that the braking force he applied was only 30 psi—significantly lower than the threshold considered critical for triggering a penalty.

Following his final pit stop, Oscar Piastri made a team radio request to the McLaren pit wall, asking for permission to swap positions with his teammate Lando Norris in order to have a fair chance at fighting for the race victory. However, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella later clarified that the message was ultimately not taken into account when determining the post-race penalty.

Oscar Piastri’s message during the race reflected his visible frustration. The young Australian talent had delivered an outstanding opening stint in the Grand Prix and had earned a hard-fought podium finish at Silverstone. However, the penalty cast a shadow over what would otherwise have been a celebratory result. According to McLaren’s internal assessment, the sanction remains questionable and leaves room for interpretation, sparking further debate about consistency in stewarding decisions across Formula 1 events.