Silverstone Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri denied maiden Formula One podium finish

Oscar Piastri had his first Formula One podium finish well within his grasp until a late safety car and head-scratching strategy call flipped the script.

Oscar Piastri just missed a podium finish at Silverstone. Picture: Getty Images

A late safety car and head-scratching strategy call denied Oscar Piastri his maiden Formula One podium finish as runaway championship leader Max Verstappen rewrote the history books for Red Bull at Silverstone.

Verstappen became just the fifth driver to win six consecutive races with his victory at the British Grand Prix – simultaneously extending Red Bull’s winning streak to 11 and equalling the mark set by McLaren in 1988.

Red Bull’s ace conceded the early race lead to surprise contender Lando Norris at the first corner but regained the advantage after five laps and was never headed en route to another dominant victory.

Piastri appeared poised to secure a shock podium having settled nicely behind his McLaren teammate Norris and Verstappen for the bulk of the 52 laps at Silverstone.

But the Aussie rookie was overtaken in the pits by eight-time British GP winner Lewis Hamilton, who was aided by a safety car brought out after Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas ground to a halt 13 laps from the chequered flag.

Oscar Piastri was denied his maiden Formula One podium finish. Picture: Getty Images

Hamilton was unleashed on soft tyres while the McLarens, surprisingly, were released on the hard compound, making life more difficult than it needed to be in the run home.

With the tyre disadvantage Piastri was unable to catch Hamilton, however he valiantly fended off the other Mercedes of George Russell to cross the line in fourth – the best finish of his fledgling F1 career.

“The most pleasing aspect was that we achieved these results on merit,” Piastri told Sky Sports.

“We were genuinely the second quickest team today which was a very happy surprise.

“On my side, unlucky with the safety car timing with Lewis getting a free stop but it’s nice in some ways to be disappointed with a fourth place considering where we were at the start of the year.

“Clearly the upgrades we have brought to the car are working an absolute treat so yeah, exciting times for the future and it’s nice to be back towards the front.”

Despite the disappointment, Piastri and McLaren will be buoyed by the result after lean pickings early in the season.

The team’s new spec looks to have pushed the MCL60 into contention for the second-best car on the grid behind the all-conquering Red Bull.

Piastri’s Silverstone performance is the most encouraging of his career. Picture: Getty Images

He was able to match Norris’ pace despite not yet running the entirety of the upgrades afforded to his teammate.

Those are expected to come at the Hungarian Grand Prix in a fortnight.

Norris became the first McLaren driver since Hamilton in 2010 to feature on the podium at Silverstone.

But the Briton lamented not being able to share the podium with Piastri.

“Pretty insane to have put up a fight … they put me on hard tyres, I don’t know why,” Norris joked.

“But it was an amazing fight with Lewis to hold him off.

“They just wanted to give me a bit of a test I guess. I wanted the softs, I felt like it made a bit more sense especially with the safety car coming out, but I was P2 so all good.

Honestly we should have had P2 and P3 – Oscar did an amazing job all weekend and he should have been P3 today without the safety car,” he added.

“(It was) a shame (because) he deserved it.”

With his Silverstone victory, Verstappen joins Sebastian Vettel (nine), Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg (seven) as the only drivers to win six-consecutive races.

It was the two-time world champion’s eighth race victory in 11 starts this season, extending his now surely unassailable lead atop the Drivers’ Championship standings.