FIA Stewards give reason for Oscar Piastri British GP penalty
6th July 2025The FIA Stewards have given their reason on why McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was given a 10-second time penalty for the British Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
In the early stages of the British Grand Prix, it looked as if Piastri had the race under control. The Australian was able to establish a comfortable 10-second-plus gap over the rest of the pack, but this was null and voided by the safety car.
During the second safety car intervention, it was announced that the Safety Car would end as the pack ventured towards the Hangar Straight.
Piastri hit the brakes, and Verstappen, in wet conditions, overtook the leading Australian but immediately gave the place back before spinning out on the exit of Stowe, dropping down the order to 10th.
According to the Stewards report, the officials said that Piastri braked hard, using 59.2 psi of brake pressure and dropped his speed from 218kphn to 52kph.
They believed the championship leader had breached the FIA Sporting Regulations, which required Piastri to drive without erratic braking or any manoeuvres which could endanger other drivers. They said:
“When the clerk of the course had declared that the safety car was coming in that lap and the lights were extinguished, Car 81 suddenly braked hard (59.2 psi of brake pressure) and reduced speed in the middle of the straight between T14 and T15, from 218 kph to 52 kph, resulting in Car 1 having to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
“This momentarily resulted in Car 1 unavoidably overtaking Car 81, a position which he gave back immediately.
“Article 55.15 of the FIA Sporting Regulations required Car 81 to proceed at a pace which involved 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.
“What Car 81 did was clearly a breach of that article. In accordance with the penalty guidelines, we imposed a 10 second time penalty to Car 81.”
Piastri, having served his penalty in his final pit stop during the grand prix, finished second behind Norris and ahead of maiden podium finisher, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
The stewards also gave Piastri two penalty points on his superlicence, and this brings his tally up to six across 12 months.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Norris claims British GP win as Hulkenberg secured maiden podium
- How the grid lines up for the British GP with penalties applied
- British GP: Who qualified where at Silverstone?
- Max Verstappen clinches British GP pole ahead of McLarens
- Oliver Bearman given 10-place grid penalty for red flag infringement at British GP
- FIA confirm slight update to British GP Race Directors’ event notes
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon or our website!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
