Did Verstappen's spin at Silverstone come from Piastri's 'brake test'?

10:57, 07 Jul

bySandy van Wijngaarden

Max Verstappen's spin at the British Grand Prix just after a notable moment with Oscar Piastri behind the safety car raises questions - a mistake seldom seen from the Dutchman. But was it caused by this incident?

Piastri suddenly braked hard behind the safety car, causing Verstappen to also brake hard and do his best to dodge the Australian. The FIA document revealed the bizarre numbers by which Piastri decelerated.

After the restart, Verstappen spun at Stowe and rejoined the race in tenth place. This immediately raised the question of whether the spin was related to the incident that had just happened before.

Did Piastri Cause Verstappen's Spin?

In response to a question from GPblog after the British Grand Prix, Verstappen answered this question.

“I don't think so. I was just trying to accelerate. The car was, up to that point, already quite difficult to find a good rhythm with, and I was simply caught off guard on cold tyres,” said the Dutchman.

Piastri ultimately received a ten-second time penalty and two penalty points for the incident behind the safety car. In Canada, George Russell received no penalty for a similar incident. The same FIA document explains why.

After his spin, Verstappen managed to gain a few positions and finished in fifth place. His deficit in the championship has now grown to 69 points.