Some major controversy at the British Grand Prix, when Oscar Piastri was assessed a 10-second penalty for “Erratic braking on the straight before T15 when the Safety Car lights were extinguished.” Piastri was leading the race when he was accelerating and braking behind the safety car to warm the tires — a common strategy — and his braking coincided with the restart. However, Max Verstappen, who accelerated to match Piastri, was forced to break to avoid collision, and the race stewards deemed it dangerous though it did not affect race order. Piastri served the penalty when he boxed with about 10 laps remaining.
A hard-luck race for Piastri through heavy rains, then a difficult, slick track. He had built a 15-second lead when the safety car came out. And he was second to teammate Lando Norris by six seconds, so it can be argued the penalty cost him the race, as he was the faster of the two cars. Piastri petitioned his McLaren team to have he and Norris change positions over what he and the team felt was too-harsh penalty, but the team denied it, deciding to secure a 1st and 2nd podium finish in the difficult conditions, rather than let the two race it out.
On the other side of it, Norris is now a British racing legend, having won his home Grand Prix, something he dreamed of as a boy and which he now says he values more than winning at Monaco last year. Monaco is considered one of the triple-crown races of motorsport, along with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The duel between the two drivers for the championship is now down to eight points, with Piastri leading 234 to 226 after Norris' back-to-back wins. Max Verstappen, who started on pole for Red Bull, finished P5 after a spinout cost him valuable time, now a distant third in the drivers standings, 61 points behind second-place Norris.
The battle resumes in two weeks at Spa-Francorchamps at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Piastri finished second to Lewis Hamilton last year. Norris finished fifth.
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THE ASYLUM
Bob Maddamma
1:12 pm - 07.06.2025rochester, n.y.Some major controversy at the British Grand Prix, when Oscar Piastri was assessed a 10-second penalty for “Erratic braking on the straight before T15 when the Safety Car lights were extinguished.” Piastri was leading the race when he was accelerating and braking behind the safety car to warm the tires — a common strategy — and his braking coincided with the restart. However, Max Verstappen, who accelerated to match Piastri, was forced to break to avoid collision, and the race stewards deemed it dangerous though it did not affect race order. Piastri served the penalty when he boxed with about 10 laps remaining.
A hard-luck race for Piastri through heavy rains, then a difficult, slick track. He had built a 15-second lead when the safety car came out. And he was second to teammate Lando Norris by six seconds, so it can be argued the penalty cost him the race, as he was the faster of the two cars. Piastri petitioned his McLaren team to have he and Norris change positions over what he and the team felt was too-harsh penalty, but the team denied it, deciding to secure a 1st and 2nd podium finish in the difficult conditions, rather than let the two race it out.
On the other side of it, Norris is now a British racing legend, having won his home Grand Prix, something he dreamed of as a boy and which he now says he values more than winning at Monaco last year. Monaco is considered one of the triple-crown races of motorsport, along with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The duel between the two drivers for the championship is now down to eight points, with Piastri leading 234 to 226 after Norris' back-to-back wins. Max Verstappen, who started on pole for Red Bull, finished P5 after a spinout cost him valuable time, now a distant third in the drivers standings, 61 points behind second-place Norris.
The battle resumes in two weeks at Spa-Francorchamps at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Piastri finished second to Lewis Hamilton last year. Norris finished fifth.
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