Piastri points the finger at Verstappen after penalty 'took away deserved win'

18:39, 06 Jul

byNorberto Mujica

Oscar Piastri's result could have been better at the British Grand Prix, i.e, a win was in the cards according to him. In the end, the Aussie driver feels that the race finish he deserved was 'taken away'.

Around the halfway mark of the race, Piastri, who had been leading the race by some 15 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen and teammate Lando Norris before the safety car came out, found himself leading the field into Stowe as the Safety Car's lights went off signalling the return of the race back to green flag conditions.

At this moment the Aussie driver braked, which prompted Verstappen to pass him momentarily, and to complain to his garage regarding the McLaren driver's action. It may not have seemed like it at the time, but that manoeuvre would strip Piastri of all chances at the win at Silverstone, given that it resulted in a ten-second penalty for the current championship leader.

In front of F1TV's microphones Piastri reacted to the Stewards' sanction: "I thought the penalty was pretty bad, but anyway, I'm glad we had a quick car today, showed what I needed to prove," said the Aussie driver.

Piastri feels like his 'deserved win' was 'taken from him'

Delving further into the penalty, Piastri is clearly at odds with the decision:

"I hit the brakes, saw the safety car lights went off, so I didn't accelerate again and Max went past me which was a bit strange and then I got a penalty for it, so, that is simply."

Looking ahead to the upcoming race in Spa-Francorchamps, the McLaren driver said: "The pace was good, did everything I needed to, just didn't get the result I was hoping for."

In conclusion, Piastri feels that the win was 'taken away' from him by the much talked about penalty. "It's just disappointing when the result you deserve gets taken from you, but that's how it goes sometimes."