This year's British Grand Prix took a big turn after Oscar Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty that ultimately cost him a possible race victory. The incident happened during the final Safety Car restart on lap 21, after a chaotic first half of the race marked by heavy rain, changing track conditions, and multiple Virtual and full Safety Car periods.

Piastri had taken the lead earlier in the race after Max Verstappen ran wide onto the wet section of the Hangar Straight. From that point, the McLaren driver managed the lead through several restarts and looked in control despite the difficult conditions.

On lap 21, with the Safety Car preparing to come in, the lights on top of the car were switched off as it approached Turn 14, signalling that the race would resume. As the pack came down the Hangar Straight behind the Safety Car, Piastri briefly accelerated, then suddenly hit the brakes.

According to the stewards, his speed dropped sharply from 218 kilometres per hour to just 52 in a very short distance. This unexpected move caught Verstappen, who was following closely, completely off guard. He had to take evasive action by quickly steering to avoid a collision. A few moments later, at the actual restart point, Verstappen spun his car but managed to continue and finish fifth.

The stewards reviewed the data and judged Piastri’s braking as “erratic,” particularly because it happened on a straight section of the track before Turn 15, just as the Safety Car was leaving the circuit.

As a result, he received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his super licence. This decision had a major effect on the outcome of the race. Piastri served the penalty during his only pit stop, which dropped him down the order and allowed Lando Norris to take the lead and later would go on to win his home Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen was surprised by the decision after the race. “It’s happened to me a few times now, of course, that people do that to me,” he told Viaplay. “Only I only heard after the race that he got 10 seconds for that. Of course, that’s very extreme again, a 10-second penalty. But yes, I don’t make the rules.”

Piastri, meanwhile, was clearly frustrated but tried not to say too much publicly. In parc fermé, he said, “Yeah, I’m not going to say much. I’ll get myself in trouble. Well done to Nico [Hulkenberg] – I think that’s the highlight of the day, so yeah, I’ll live with it.”

Later, when asked about the moment again, he added, “Yeah, I mean, apparently you can’t brake behind the Safety Car anymore. I mean, I did it for five laps before that. Again, I’m not going to say too much, because I’ll get myself in trouble. But thanks to the crowd for a great event. Thanks for sticking through the weather – I still like Silverstone, even if I don’t like it today, so thanks for coming out, everyone.”