Oscar Piastri 'confused' after Max Verstappen safety car decisions

Oscar Piastri was left "confused" and unhappy after a contentious penalty cost him victory in a chaotic British Grand Prix.

Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for what the stewards deemed to be "erratic braking" behind the safety car that was on track for a second time, forcing Max Verstappen to take evasive action. In wet conditions, Piastri rapidly decelerated from 218 kph to 52 kph.

The Australian served the penalty late in the race as the conditions at Silverstone forced the drivers to switch from intermediate tyres to slicks, allowing McLaren team-mate Lando Norris to take up the lead of the race, and on to his first home win.

Piastri finished runner-up, leading to his advantage in the drivers' standings being cut to eight points over Norris at the halfway stage of the season.

Piastri was left perplexed by the fact he was penalised in contrast to George Russell, who went unpunished after he braked hard behind the safety car, with Verstappen again the driver behind on that occasion.

Additionally, in controlling the first safety car a few laps earlier in the race with Verstappen behind, Piastri performed a similar manoeuvre to what followed, but that was not noted by the stewards. 

Explaining what unfolded, a disconsolate Piastri said: "I hit the brakes. At the same time I did that, the lights on the safety car went out, which was also extremely late.

"I didn't accelerate because I can control the pace from there, and you saw the result. I didn't do anything differently from my first restart. I didn't go any slower, so a shame."

Assessing the stewards' decisions, Piastri said: "I don't think [Verstappen] he had to evade me. I think he managed the first time.

"Going back to Canada, I think you had to evade more there than you did [at Silverstone]. So, yeah, I'm a bit confused, to say the least."

Asked whether he felt there was inconsistency compared to what happened in Canada, Piastri added: "I don't know how different it was.

"I can only comment on what I felt I did, which I felt was well within the rules, and I did it once already in that race [British GP], so I don't really get it. I'll go and have a look back."