McLaren question British GP penalty after Oscar Piastri heartbreak

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has defended Oscar Piastri after the Australian was issued a 10-second time penalty at the British Grand Prix.

The punishment was served during Piastri's final pit stop of the race, resulting in team-mate Lando Norris moving to the lead and culminating in the race win.

Piastri was flagged for driving erratically during a safety car restart as he applied his brakes on the back straight, causing Max Verstappen to take avoiding action.

Piastri did not elaborate on the penalty after the race, asserting he would get in trouble for speaking his mind.

McLaren has concluded the penalty was “very harsh” as it suggested the stewards should have taken certain factors into account.

“I was actually taking another look at the data and the video before coming here [to speak to the media],” Stella said.

“I just wanted to take another look after the initial look that we took live during the race.

“I have to say that the penalty still looks very harsh. There are a few factors that we would have liked the stewards to take into account.

“First of all, the safety car was called in very late, not leaving much time for the leader to actually restart in conditions in which you lose tyre temperature, you lose brake temperature, and the same was for everyone.

“The 50 bar [psi] is [brake] pressure that you see during a safety car when you do some braking and acceleration.”

Andrea Stella takes dig at Red Bull

Verstappen immediately took to the team radio after the race to voice his displeasure with Piastri's driving.

However, the Dutchman has since defended his McLaren rival, stating the penalty was “extreme”.

Stella appeared to take aim at Verstappen's comments over team radio, suggesting it fabricated a picture that was much worse than reality.

“We’ll have to see if other competitors made the situation look worse than what it is,” Stella said.

“We know that as part of the racecraft of some competitors, definitely there's also the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not.

“So a few things to review, but in itself now the penalty has been decided, has been served, and we move on.

“I think we will see if there's anything to learn on our side, and I'm sure Oscar will use this motivation for being even more determined for the races to come and try and win as many races as possible in the future.”