Australian Born racing driver Oscar Jack Piastri is a well-known driver in the Formula One circuit for McLaren. Up to so far, he has won eight Formula One Grand Prix titles across three seasons. Piastri has been only the sixth driver so far in history who as on the GP2/Formula 2 title during his rookie season. He also had successive season wins in the Formula Renault, Formula Three as well as the Formula Two championships. He was a member of the Alpine Academy before signing to McLaren in 2023.
What Silverstone has shared with the world
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri says he has learnt from a costly British Grand Prix penalty and will not brake as hard when leading behind the Formula One safety car at restarts. The championship frontrunner was handed a 10 second penalty at Silverstone this month for erratic braking before the restart when the safety car was about to return to the pits. The penalty cost him the win, handing it to teammate Lando Norris, and trimmed his overall lead to eight points at the season’s midpoint.
The penalty point system has been in use by the F1 since 2014. The aim of which to deter reckless driving. Penalty points vary based on the type of offence committed. The points work to accumulate on the FIA Super License for a period of 12 months. Anything exceeding 12 points lead to an automatic one-race ban. Stewards ruled the Australian had suddenly braked hard, forcing Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen who was right behind him to take evasive action and momentarily overtake.
Lessons learned from past mistakes
Piastri said he had done the same maneuver in the past, as had others, but accepted it would now be punished by the stewards.
“I looked through it with the team afterwards and I think there’s been a lot of learning on both sides,”
the McLaren driver told reporters ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, where he arrived with an eight-point lead over teammate Lando Norris.
“I still have my feelings about it I guess, but it’s in the past now and I’ve moved on. “If it needs to be penalized now then that’s fine. I know that for the future, but obviously immediately after the race I was frustrated.” Piastri added that there had been discussions with the governing FIA to clarify the situation and how it might have been handled differently. “I won’t brake as hard next time. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “And I think also now the threshold is a bit clearer on where that stands, so I will just simply not brake as hard.”
Sharing some of Piastri’s favorites
Belgium, the longest track on the calendar and one of the fastest, is a favorite circuit for Piastri although the race will only be held in four of the next six years as Formula One alternates some venues. “I would like to win anywhere but here is always a track I’ve really enjoyed from the first time I came here,” said the Australian. “It’s a track that in my opinion should be on the calendar every year as long as Formula One exists.”
The Belgium Grand Prix has been held 81 times, with the first race 1925. Michael Schumacher won this Grand Prix 6 times with 18 Constructor wins going to Ferrari. During the last race, Lando Norris took the pole position. The fastest lap in the 2025 race was clocked by Andrea Antonelli for Mercedes. Recently, the word has been going around that Formula 1 has plans to refresh its race calendar by adding some rotational rounds. This freed up space will allow the sport the ability to explore some new territories. Normal regulations stipulate a maximum of 24 Grand Prix weekends per season. 2024 has been the longest recorded season with 24 rounds. The 2025 calendar also sports 24 rounds.
GCN.com/REUTERS.
