Stella blames Verstappen for Piastri penalty? 'Ability to ensnare others into trap'
Andrea Stella stands fast on McLaren's racing principles. Photo: RacePictures.
A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Oscar Piastri's penalty was addressed by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, and he points to Max Verstappen's cunning as the culprit for the Aussie driver's sanction.
Speaking to media including GPblog after the British GP, Stella was asked for his views on the ten-second penalty the Stewards issued to Oscar Piastri during the race at Silverstone. The Italian has a different take on the matter, having reviewed data and video available after the race had ended.
'Penalty was harsh, and Stewards did not consider several matters'
"I have to say that the penalty still looks very harsh. There's a few factors that we would have liked the stewards to take into account," said Stella believing that the race officials had not considered every potential variable before reaching the much talked about decision to penalised the then race leader, Piastri.
"First of all, the safety car was called in very late, not leaving much time for the leader to actually restart, in conditions in which you lose tyre temperature, you lose brake temperature, and the same was for everyone," added the McLaren team principal highlighting the circumstances that led to Piastri breaking as he did, as he led the field into Stowe and into gree flag conditions.
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George Russell during his own braking under safety car incident, which also took place with Max Verstappen on his heels, exerted a 30psi pressure force on the brakes, which the Stewards believed was within reasonable limits. Stella argues that 20psi pressure increase is nothing out of the ordinary either.
Stella claims Piastri's braking practices were not crazy, and pointer his finger at Verstappen
"The 50 bar (59.2 psi of brake pressure, ed.) is a pressure that you see during a safety car when you do some braking and acceleration," said the McLaren team principal before pointing the finger directly at Verstappen, th driver who complained about Piastri's braking practices and who momentarily overtook the McLaren driver whilst under safety car conditions.
"We'll have to see also if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is, because we know that as part of the racecraft of some competitors, definitely there's also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not. So a few things to review," warned Stella.
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