Was Piastri's 'very harsh' penalty excessive? F1 pundit explains why stewards got it wrong
Co-author:Tobia Elia
Nicole MulderManaging Editor
Nicole Mulder is Managing Editor at GPblog and a specialist in Formula 1 and MotoGP. With years of experience and permanent FIA accreditation at Grands Prix worldwide, she delivers reliable coverage and insights based on direct access to drivers and the F1 paddock.
Robert Doornbos has weighed in on the incident between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen during a chaotic British Grand Prix. According to the former F1 driver, the penalty handed to Piastri was overly harsh, and the McLaren driver should have simply taken the win at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen made a rare error during the race, losing control of his Red Bull and spinning behind the safety car. Just moments earlier, Piastri had braked hard — a move some believe indirectly contributed to Verstappen’s spin.
"He went on the gas too early on cold
tires and lost control," Doornbos analyzed on Ziggo
Sport. "It irritated him, you could tell. He communicated
that immediately on the team radio."
Doornbos utterly disagrees with Piastri's penalty
Although the stewards ultimately handed Piastri a ten-second time penalty for dangerous driving during the restart, Doornbos questioned the decision. He wondered whether Verstappen’s spin played a role in their judgment, even though it wasn’t mentioned in the official FIA report.
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"Let's be honest: I think Piastri
should have just won. He was punished terribly," the Dutchman said.
The former Red Bull driver thinks that Piastri wanted to warm up his brakes before restarting the race, but the
stewards judged that the action – also considering the poor visibility in the rain –
was dangerous: "Max was of course startled by it, especially in these conditions,
but I found the penalty very harsh. It really hurt."
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