Oscar Piastri has acknowledged that, despite his initial thought, it would have been unfair to teammate Lando Norris for McLaren to reverse their positions at the British Grand Prix after Piastri was handed a penalty that cost him the lead.
The championship contender was visibly frustrated by the 10-second sanction from the stewards, which he received for braking too sharply in front of Max Verstappen just before the Lap 22 Safety Car restart.
Piastri had to serve this penalty during his subsequent pit stop for slick tyres. Being just two seconds ahead of Norris beforehand, the 10-second delay in the pit box meant Norris took the lead of the race.
Norris then inherited and maintained the lead after his own pit stop on the following lap.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also expressed dissatisfaction with the penalty, describing it as “very harsh.” With seven laps remaining, Piastri enquired over the team radio whether they would consider swapping positions back if they agreed the penalty was unjust.
Three laps later, Piastri`s race engineer confirmed that no team orders would be issued.
Speaking after the race, Piastri reiterated his unhappiness with the penalty, which likely cost him a victory in his championship battle with Norris. However, he conceded that a position swap would not have been the right course of action.
“I don`t think there was anything wrong with it. Lando didn`t do anything wrong,” said Piastri. “I don`t think it would have been particularly fair to swap, but I felt I should at least ask.”
“Just Say It”: McLaren Encouraged Piastri`s Request, Even While Denying It
Team principal Andrea Stella explained that McLaren`s philosophy encourages drivers to openly communicate their thoughts and suggestions, which is why Piastri`s request was welcomed despite ultimately being denied.
Stella noted that while they chose not to enforce a swap after pit-wall discussions, the initial strategy regarding the penalty during a Safety Car period was designed to potentially allow Piastri to retain the lead.
Stella stated: “As a team and with Lando and Oscar, we always tell our drivers, `don`t keep things in the back of your mind when you drive`. If you have a point, if you have a suggestion, if you want to let us know what you are thinking, just say it.”
“Then we will evaluate it on the pit wall, make a decision and come back to you.”
“Oscar did exactly what we incentivize our drivers to do. He communicated, he expressed his opinion, which we evaluated.”
“The way we handled the situation today given the penalty was to allow Oscar, despite the penalty, to retain the lead in case of a Safety Car.”
“If there was a Safety Car, both cars would have pitted [at the same time], Oscar would have paid the penalty, Lando would have waited, and the two McLarens would have gone out in the same corner as they came in.”
“But at the point at which we needed to transition to dry tyres, then the penalty was applied, and at that stage, we thought we should just retain the natural order.”
“So I think this was fair for both, and I`m sure that Oscar will understand and agree to this point of view,” Stella concluded.
