I was well within the rules: Piastri fumes over penalty

Yahoo

a day ago

It was a study in contrasts. Lando Norris exulting in his first victory at his home British Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri assessing the damage of a 10-second penalty that robbed him of a chance of glory.
The McLaren pair are jostling for the world title in a two-horse race. Australia's Piastri has an eight-point lead but the force is with Norris, who has won the last two races, in Austria and here at Silverstone in front of a euphoric 168,000 crowd.
The turning point was the 10-second sanction imposed by the stewards after Piastri decelerated from 135mph to just 32mph on the Hangar Straight ahead of a safety car restart. Max Verstappen was forced to take evasive action
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The stewards ruled Piastri guilty of "erratic driving" and that Verstappen had to take "evasive action to avoid a collision".
But Piastri insisted that his move had been "well within the rules" and that he had already performed the manoeuvre once in the race.
"I don't really get it. I hit the brakes, and at the same time as I did, the lights went out on the safety car. I didn't accelerate because I can control the pace from there," he said.
"I didn't do anything differently to my first restart. I didn't go slower. I don't think Max had to evade me. So I am a bit confused to say the least. I know I deserved a lot more than I did today and when you don't get the result you deserve, it hurts.
"Apparently you can't brake behind the safety car anymore. I had done it for five laps before but I'm not going to say more, I'm going to get myself in trouble. I still like Silverstone even if I don't like it today."
Piastri even asked over the radio for McLaren to order him and Norris to swap places to cancel the effect of the penalty. The team declined to do so.
He said: "I knew what the answer was going to be before I asked. But I just wanted a small glimmer of hope that I could get it back but I knew it wasn't going to happen.
"Lando didn't do anything wrong so I don't think it would have been fair to swap, but I thought I should ask. It doesn't change much for the championship. I felt I did a good job and I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races."
It was joy unconfined for Norris, who said: "This victory is everything I dreamed of. Being on top at your home race is very, very special.
"From a British perspective, I join a long list of pretty incredible winners - most of them are Lewis (Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix a record nine times) - so to join him and continue the reign of the British at Silverstone is amazing.
"Looking up at the fans and seeing them on their feet, your mind just goes pretty blank. The main thing is just don't f*** it up. I was just trying to enjoy the moment.
"But these are moments that none of you guys get to witness. This is only something that I, and very few Brits have achieved. It is a selfish moment, in a way, but so special and incredible because it is such a rare thing to feel and witness."
With agencies