Before the thunderbolt that came on Wednesday, the news that Red Bull was parting with Christian Horner, the only Team Principal in their Formula 1 history, there was one dominant storyline in the paddock.
F1 fans issue their verdict on Oscar Piastri’s penalty at the British Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri’s penalty at the British Grand Prix was the talk of the paddock, until the Christian Horner news. But was the penalty too harsh?
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Oscar Piastri’s penalty at the British Grand Prix.
As the field wound around Silverstone under a Safety Car, which was set to come into the pits Piastri, who was leading the race, braked suddenly. That saw second-place Max Verstappen overtake him for a brief moment, just before the race resumed under green flag conditions.
Verstappen spun off the restart, sliding back through the order, and race officials took notice of Piastri’s maneuver. After a brief investigation, they issued a severe sanction, a ten-second penalty for a Safety Car Infringement.
Piastri served that penalty on a subsequent pit stop, which opened the door for teammate Lando Norris to take the win at the British Grand Prix.
The Australian driver was frustrated with the decision and remained tight-lipped after the race and in the FIA Press Conference.
But this week, we gave you a chance to weigh in. In the latest F1 installment of SB Nation Reacts we asked your thoughts on the penalty.
An overwhelming number of respondents — 63% — thought it was too harsh:
33% of respondents thought the penalty for Piastri was just right.
Then the final four percent thought the stewards were too lenient.
As you can imagine, next week’s question will focus on Red Bull ...
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