Why was Oscar Piastri penalised after George Russell went unpunished?

Oscar Piastri looked on course for a sixth victory of the season at the British Grand Prix before he was handed a 10-second time penalty.

The Australian had led for most of the race after making his way past Max Verstappen on lap eight, navigating early-race chaos and the first safety car restart.

However, on the second restart following a collision between Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar, Piastri was flagged for erratic driving that ultimately cost him the race victory.

The usually calm and collected demeanour of Piastri was replaced by a visibly frustrated attitude after the chequered flag as he felt he was unjustly treated by the F1 stewards.

His second-place finish allowed team-mate Lando Norris to further close the gap in the drivers' championship, with Piastri's advantage now reading just eight points.

While there is still a long way to go, Piastri will no doubt view the Silverstone race as a major missed opportunity. 

What happened to Oscar Piastri at the British GP?

On lap 21 of the race, race control called the safety car back into the pit lane as the debris on the track had been cleared.

However, the decision to do so came quite late, when the field was running towards Turn 15.

It seemed to catch Piastri out, who had begun to accelerate right as the 'safety car ending' notification came through.

Piastri's speed was too great to continue as he didn't have enough of a gap to the safety car, which had yet to round the final corner before the pit lane entry.

As such, he slowed down to gain control of the pack, but in doing so from a high speed, it created a ripple effect throughout the field.

Verstappen moved ahead of Piastri as he seemingly did not anticipate the McLaren driver would slow down to such a dramatic fashion.

The F1 stewards reviewed the situation and opted to hand Piastri a 10-second time penalty.

It proved costly for the race outcome as after the final pit stops, Piastri found himself behind team-mate Lando Norris, who secured his first win on home soil.

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How does it differ to George Russell's situation?

A similar case occurred at the Canadian Grand Prix, when Verstappen advanced ahead of George Russell behind the safety car when the Mercedes driver hit the brakes.

Russell was not issued a penalty in Montreal en route to his victory, but there were significant differences to the Piastri incident.

Data from the Silverstone race shows Piastri slowed from 218 km/h to 52 km/h. Russell, meanwhile, went from 140 km/h to 85 km/h.

Furthermore, Piastri's rapid deceleration was assisted by applying 59.2 psi of braking force, while Russell's was almost half that at 30 psi.

Piastri's situation was made more dangerous due to the rain, as the heavy spray left in his wake placed him nearly invisible until Verstappen was closing in on his rear.

The FIA's penalty guidelines list, which was recently made public, details that erratic driving behind the safety car can result in punishments ranging from its most lenient option of five seconds to a severe stop-and-go penalty.

With a 10-second penalty meeting somewhere in the middle, Piatsri and McLaren questioned the severity of the punishment.

“Apparently you're not allowed to brake behind the safety car anymore,” declared an annoyed Piastri. ”I did it before for five laps.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella added: "I have to say that the penalty still looks very harsh.

Piastri even got support from Verstappen, who stated: “I just find it strange that suddenly now Oscar is the first one to receive 10 seconds.”

Whatever the right decision was, it will be a lesson learned for all the drivers on the grid going forward.