Max Verstappen gives verdict on Oscar Piastri penalty after McLaren star left fuming

Max Verstappen says it is 'strange' that Oscar Piastri received a brutal punishment for braking under the safety car, in a thinly-veiled reference to George Russell pulling a similar move at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Piastri's pursuit of victory at the British Grand Prix was ruined when he was slapped with a heavy 10-second penalty for a safety car infringement on lap 21. Verstappen was forced to quickly steer clear of the Australian to avoid a collision. Piastri later refused to comment on the incident, claiming that he would get in trouble for providing his true feelings on receiving a punishment that meant he had to settle for second place.

Last month, Verstappen believed he was on the wrong end of a similar move by Russell in Canada. However, on that occasion, there was no punishment for the Mercedes driver. Verstappen has now said that the FIA's decision to strip Piastri of 10 seconds was 'strange'.

Asked for his reaction to the McLaren driver's punishment, Verstappen said: "I only found out after the race that he got one. No one told me during the race. The thing is that it's happened to me now a few times, this kind of scenario. I just find it strange that suddenly now Oscar is the first one to receive 10 seconds for it."

At the Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull believed Verstappen was being goaded into a penalty by Russell, who had earlier joked about his rival being only one penalty point away from a one-race ban - a risk that has since expired. Mercedes called Red Bull's protest over the incident "petty" and "embarrassing".

But Red Bull team principal Christian Horner renewed the war of words with Mercedes at Silverstone. While he was not shocked to see Piastri punished, he still believes Russell should have faced similar disciplinary action in Montreal.

"I wasn't surprised to see him (Piastri) get a penalty. That was what we would expect," Horner said after the British Grand Prix. "It was probably more surprising that George didn't get one in Montreal, to be honest with you. But that's it. Unfortunately, our race unfolded from that point."

Verstappen, who started in pole position, was chasing at the front of the grid for much of the race until his car spun on the wet track late on. He eventually finished fifth.