Former F1 driver points to Verstappen as a decisive factor in Piastri's penalty

Oscar Piastri received a severe time penalty for 'braking erratically' behind the safety car. The former F1 driver Christijan Albers suggests that the Australian driver was penalised mainly because of Max Verstappen. 

Piastri abruptly braked hard behind the safety car, causing Verstappen to swerve to avoid a collision. “This is absolutely nonsensical,” Giedo van der Garde said in his initial reaction upon reviewing the footage in the Viaplay studio. The Australian was given a ten-second time penalty and two penalty points on his license.

Albers said that Piastri owed his penalty to footage showing Verstappen clearly having to dodge the McLaren. “This is the shot, Verstappen's onboard, that caused him to get the penalty. You hear the gearbox and that Max locks up and can't slow down anymore.”

According to the FIA document, it is clear that the penalty was primarily issued because Verstappen had to swerve, thereby endangering other drivers due to Piastri's actions. Ultimately, Piastri was judged to be at fault.

Subsequently, the Dutchman spun, re-entering the track in tenth place. Was this due to the earlier moment with Piastri behind the safety car? “To say it caused it is also a bit much...It creates a certain frustration and of course, Max is right on top of it,” the former F1 driver replied.

According to him, the spin was indeed a genuine mistake by Verstappen that rarely happens. “This was just a moment where you can see he is not a robot and that he failed. You just notice, he was struggling with the car throughout the race. They just didn’t get it right. They had not only a lack of downforce but also just a lack of mechanical grip.”

Thus, the Dutchman's mistake was mainly due to a difficult RB21. “Overall, the car was just nearly undrivable,” Albers concluded.