McLaren boss questions Piastri’s 10-second penalty at British GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella expressed his disagreement with the 10-second penalty given to Oscar Piastri at the British GP — a punishment he deemed “too harsh.”

The incident occurred during the safety car restart on lap 21, when race leader Piastri suddenly braked on the Hangar Straight — forcing Max Verstappen to take evasive action to avoid collision.

Stewards imposed the penalty due to dramatic speed reduction from 218 kph to 52 kph with 59.2 psi brake pressure — an action deemed in violation of Article 55.15 of FIA regulations.

“The penalty still looks very harsh. There are several factors that stewards should have considered,” said Stella. “The safety car was called in very late, not leaving much time for the leader to restart.”

While McLaren won’t take further steps regarding the penalty, Stella stated the team will engage in discussions with FIA to review the interpretation of this situation for future reference.