Oscar Piastri denied British Grand Prix win after controversial penalty hands win to title rival

Incensed after copping a controversial race-changing penalty, Oscar Piastri was also denied his request to swap back positions with McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri was sensationally denied victory at a wet and wild British Grand Prix after Formula One race stewards controversially penalised the Australian for a dangerous restart that gifted the win to his championship rival Lando Norris.

Piastri was forced to surrender the race lead to his McLaren teammate eight laps from the end after being slapped with a 10-second penalty for slowing down too quickly in front of Max Verstappen.

McLaren protested the decision but to no avail as Piastri returned to the pits and served the stop-go penalty before changing tyres, eventually crossing the line in second place, 6.8 seconds behind Norris.

Furious at being stripped of a chance to win at the iconic Silverstone circuit, Piastri was adamant his actions didn’t warrant a penalty.

“I’m not going to say much,” he said in his trackside interview. “I’ll leave it there.

“Apparently you can’t brake behind the safety car anymore. I did it for five laps before that. I’m not going to say too much because I’ll get myself in trouble.”

"It's just disappointing when the result you deserve gets taken from you" #F1#BritishGPpic.twitter.com/d9VaFqZVHo

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 6, 2025

Piastri also opted to bite his tongue on team radio immediately after the race.

“I think I’ll get myself banned for the year if I say anything here,” he said. “Thanks for the effort.”

Incensed by the penalty, at one point Piastri requested Norris hand back the position.

“I don’t think the penalty before was very fair. I mean, I know it’s a big question, but if you don’t think it was fair either, I think we should swap back and race.”

📻 Piastri’s radio: “We should swap back and race” #F1#BritishGPpic.twitter.com/TUeW0njbrH

— Radio Messages (@radiomessages) July 6, 2025

The silver lining for the 24-year-old from Melbourne was that he retained his lead in the drivers’ title race at the halfway stage of the 24-round championship but his 15-point advantage over Norris was reduced to eight points.

The feel-good story of the race belonged to veteran German driver Nico Hulkenberg who finished third for Sauber to claim his first podium finish in his 239th race start after a career spanning a decade and a half.

“It has been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” the 37-year-old said.

“I always knew we have it in us, I have it in me somewhere. What a race, coming from virtually last, doing it all over again from last weekend, it’s pretty surreal to be honest.

“Not sure how it all happened but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race.”

Max Verstappen started from pole position but was overtaken early by Oscar Piastri

Interrupted by heavy rain showers and changing conditions, the race was chaotic from start to finish, with a number of drivers sliding off the slippery circuit.

These included Verstappen, who came to grief after the incident with Piastri when the Australian hit the brakes while following a safety car, prompting Verstappen to take evasive action.

The Dutchman placed fifth in his Red Bull to remain third in the title standings, but fell 69 points behind Piastri in another giant dent to his fading hopes of winning a fifth successive championship.

By finishing second, Piastri claimed his 10th podium of the season, matching the record for the most by an Australian in a single year, set by Alan Jones when he won the world title in 1980 then equalled by Mark Webber in 2010 and 2011.

But he was in no mood for celebrating, even during his second round of interviews in the media pen.

“I really can’t be bothered (to explain), there is no point – I can’t change it,” Piastri said.

“I did what I did at the first restart, and apparently one needed a penalty and one didn’t.

“I don’t really understand, I need to look back and see but I really don’t feel I did anything different or anything wrong.”

Oscar Piastri congratulated Lando Norris after he won the British Grand Prix

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella said the team disagreed with the penalty but said they would cop it on the chin.

“We just made our observations to the race direction. We said that we thought the situation was pretty much compromised by the late call of the safety car in, which put Oscar in a difficult position, this was not taken into account somehow,” Stella said.

“There’s still 12 races to go, plenty of opportunities for Oscar to use this extra motivation coming from.”

For Norris, the turnaround was a dream come true, allowing him to win his home Grand Prix for the first time after finishing third at Silverstone last year and second in 2023.

“It’s beautiful. Everything I dreamt of,” Norris said.

“Apart from a championship, I think this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings and in terms of achievement, being proud, all of it.

“I was just trying to take it all in, enjoy the moment, because it might never happen again. I hope it does. But these are memories that I’ll bring with me forever. An incredible achievement.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris celebrated after winning his home Grand Prix at Silverstone

With another one-two finish, McLaren’s lead in the constructors’ championship has blown out to 238 points with the teammates locked in what seems to be a two-horse race for the drivers’ crown.

Of the 12 races so far this season, Piastri has won five with Norris taking four, setting the stage for an epic showdown between the pair in the second half.

“It was a good race for Oscar as well. I’ve got to give credit to Oscar, he was fast the whole way. So a round of applause Oscar, because he put up a good fight,” Norris said.

“I enjoy those moments together when we’re on track, not as much when he’s ahead of me as when he’s behind, but that’s life. Credits to him and to McLaren, to win at home in front of all the friends and family we have here, it’s pretty amazing.”

Championship standings at the halfway stage of the F1 season

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 234 points

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 226 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 173 points

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119 points

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 44 points

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 37 points

10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 23 points

Originally published as Oscar Piastri denied British Grand Prix win after controversial penalty hands win to title rival