Oscar Piastri was leading the British Grand Prix in a very wet race riddled with accidents, DNFs, and safety cars, and he was in a fantastic position to win the Grand Prix, given how difficult it was to overtake in those conditions.
As the safety car was ending after Isack Hadjar’s accident into the wall was cleared, the Australian driver braked hard, causing Max Verstappen and a number of other drivers to down the order to take evasive action to avoid a collision. Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty for the erratic nature of the incident, as it was deemed dangerous, given the circumstances.
The penalty ultimately cost the 24-year-old the race win and led to Lando Norris reducing his championship deficit to just eight points. Piastri clearly did not agree with the penalty and was seemingly bitter once the race had concluded.
Why wasn't George Russell penalized?
At the Canadian Grand Prix just a few weeks ago, George Russell braked hard behind the safety car as well, which meant Max Verstappen briefly took the lead alongside. However, the British driver was not handed a similar penalty for “erratic driving”, something lots of fans did not agree with.
The difference between the responses to the incidents took into account the conditions, impact, and decrease in speed. Piastri’s braking pressure was 59.2 PSI, which saw him lower his speed from 218 kph to 52 kph on a very wet track.
Russell’s incident in Canada was far less severe, as he braked on a dry track and decreased his speed by approximately 65 kph, which is only about 40% of how much Piastri decreased his speed. Additionally, the British driver did not nearly cause a collision from behind, even though Verstappen got out of line here as well.
While some may argue that Russell deserved a penalty in Canada or Piastri did not deserve a penalty in Silverstone, the several major differences justified the stewards' decisions. The calls of inconsistency were seemingly debunked once both incidents were assessed on a more detailed level, even if very similar in nature.