Martin Brundle sends McLaren ‘fireworks’ warning after seeing Oscar Piastri do something for the ‘first time’

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris edged closer to Oscar Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship at Silverstone after winning the British Grand Prix.

The Briton took advantage of a penalty for his teammate, which was issued by the stewards after a Safety Car infringement for Piastri.

Piastri led most of the race after overtaking Max Verstappen in the tricky conditions, but when a second Safety Car came out for Isack Hadjar’s crash at Copse, he braked harshly and almost caused a collision.

The stewards took a dim view of the incident and issued a 10-second time penalty, which he served at the end of the race during his final pit stop.

Piastri sent a scathing team radio message to his team, while he could be seen visibly upset when speaking to the media. Martin Brundle has warned McLaren that there could be ‘fireworks’ after the atmosphere on the podium, writing in his Sky Sports F1 column

Martin Brundle tells McLaren to expect ‘fireworks’ after seeing angry Oscar Piastri

Piastri questioned why he received a penalty when he did brake at exactly the same point as he did during the first Safety Car period during the restart.

Jolyon Palmer felt Piastri’s penalty was heavy-handed, while Brundle believes McLaren should expect to see more tension as the title race progresses.

“With the Ferrari boys, Verstappen and Russell having a more difficult day, and with the McLaren duo a full two seconds faster per lap than the rest of the field in some phases, as Silverstone marks the halfway point of the season, albeit with four of the six Sprint races remaining, it seems the Drivers’ Championship showdown will indeed be between Piastri and Norris, and we can expect some fireworks there,” said Brundle.

“That’s the first time we’ve seen the angry side of the calm, silent Aussie assassin. Oscar’s radio call for the places to be swapped if the team thought he’d received an unfair penalty was more than cheeky, though.”

“And frankly they may as well hand the constructors’ trophy over to McLaren and save time in what will be a very short winter in F1 land.”

Why Oscar Piastri was angry after British GP penalty

Data from Piastri’s brake trace shows that he did apply the brakes in a similar manner on both occasions behind the Safety Car, but the timing was crucial.

He admitted in the post-race cool down room that on the second occasion he was caught out by the Safety Car lights, which is where he fell foul of the regulations.

According to Article 55.15 of the F1 Sporting Regulations, drivers are not allowed to do any “erratic braking” manoeuvres that will “endanger other drivers from the point at which the lights on the Safety Car turn off.”

Piastri had put in an input of 59.2psi of brake pressure between Turns 14 and 15, with him reducing his speed from 218kph (135mph) to 52kph (32mph).

This was deemed dangerous enough by the FIA Stewards to warrant a penalty, even though it was perhaps viewed as harsh by the team.