Oscar Piastri has revealed that both he and McLaren held talks with the FIA in the aftermath of the Safety Car controversy at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
The Australian came under scrutiny for braking sharply behind the Safety Car, earning a time penalty that denied him victory at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen claimed he was forced to take evasive action, with the stewards siding with the Red Bull driver – a verdict that left Piastri visibly frustrated.
He kept his thoughts measured in the immediate aftermath, resisting the urge to criticise in parc ferme interviews.
But after a two-week break to reflect, Piastri has revealed the outcome of discussions held between himself, McLaren, and the FIA.
Speaking ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Piastri first reflected on the debrief with his McLaren team.
And while he was happy to move on from the incident, he pointed out that similar manoeuvres had gone unpunished in the past.
“Yeah, I obviously looked through it with the team afterwards. I think there’s been a lot of learning on both sides,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I still have my feelings about it, I guess, but it’s in the past now and I’ve moved on.
“For me, it was a manoeuvre that had been done before by myself in some cases, but other drivers as well in the past, in an identical manner.
“Obviously, if it needs to be penalised now, then that’s fine, I know that for the future. Immediately after the race, I was frustrated.”
Piastri reflects on FIA talks clarifying Safety Car rules
A similar incident unfolded at the Canadian Grand Prix, where Verstappen was irritated by leader George Russell’s ‘erratic’ braking behind the Safety Car during a restart.
On that occasion, the stewards sided with Russell, but after a different ruling at Silverstone, the federation appears to have taken steps to better define the regulations surrounding such scenarios.
Piastri confirmed that conversations took place with the governing body to gain clarity on the matter moving forward.
“We’ve had discussions with the FIA – like I said, I think there was learning on both sides about how that situation could have been handled differently,” he added.
“For myself, I won’t brake as hard next time, it’s as simple as that. I think also now the threshold is a bit clearer on where that stands, so I would just simply not brake this hard.”
Looking ahead to the Belgian GP, Piastri revealed why Spa is his favourite track and what a win here would mean to him as he strives to protect his points lead.
“I would like to win anywhere, but here is always a track I’ve really enjoyed from the first time I came here,” he expressed.
“There’s a lot of corners here that are unique to Spa. The setting in the forest, the length of the track, the layout, and some of the iconic corners you don’t find anywhere else – that’s what I love about it.
“It’s just a very challenging layout overall, with plenty of straights for overtaking and very technical sections in Sector 2. It’s always been a track I’ve really enjoyed.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri explains his reluctance to adopt revised McLaren F1 front suspension
Discussion about this post