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Piastri pays penalty as Norris cuts world title lead
Ben Findon, AAP • July 7th, 2025 6:30 am
McLaren's Lando Norris and Piastri couldn't get on terms with the race winner | Photo: AP
The rain fell in torrents, then a bright sun emerged as Australia's world championship leader Oscar Piastri also felt the extremes at the British Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver came from second place on the grid to lead, then incurred a 10-second penalty before seeing teammate and chief rival Lando Norris go clear to take the chequered flag.
If Piastri, who had begged his team to allow him back in front in the closing stages, felt himself under a cloud long after the Silverstone rain had passed, it would be little surprise
As the race to the world title passed the halfway mark in the British countryside, what was once a healthy advantage has shrunk dramatically.
Norris has now won successive races, in Austria last week and now on his home tarmac in front of an ecstatic 160,000 crowd, to cut Piastri's championship lead from 15 points to just eight.
His blunder in Canada last month, when he collided with Piastri and put himself out of the race, seems a world away for the happy Brit.
The key moment, and just how significant it could prove to be will become clearer as the season progresses, came when Piastri was informed he had been given a 10-second penalty by the stewards after he slammed on his brakes at 130mph ahead of a safety car restart.
Max Verstappen was forced to take evasive action amid the spray. Holding both hands up in disgust, Verstappen was straight on the radio: "Whoa, mate, f***, he just suddenly slows down again," he said.
Piastri switched to dries on lap 43, serving his punishment to allow Norris to pit on the following lap for his switch to slicks. The Briton emerged from the pits in front and went on to finish 6.8 seconds ahead of Piastri.
Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson was out on the first lap after Haas driver Esteban Ocon collided with the Kiwi driver's left side approaching turn 5. Ocon had little room to move with Yuki Tsunoda on his left and Lawson spun out.
Piastri, who also survived a late spin scare, called on the Mclaren pit wall to swap positions with Norris and allow a straight fight to the flag. McLaren dismissed the plea leaving Norris to win the British race for the first time in his career.
"Oscar, we're not going to do any team orders. It's just five laps to the end," came the message from McLaren control.
"This one means a lot, It's beautiful," said Norris over the team radio as as he savoured victory.
In a race with plenty of crashes and spins, Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg was third from 19th on the grid for his first podium finish in his 239th race of an Formula One career that began in 2010.
Verstappen, the defending champion, started on pole but ended up fifth after spinning from second at a safety-car restart, briefly dropping to 10th.
Britain's Lewis Hamilton, who had finished in the top three in all previous 11 appearances at Silverstone, had to settle for fourth, running off track in slippery conditions after pitting for slick tyres with 10 laps remaining.
Hamilton had complained of issues with his Ferrari throughout the race, saying "it's so hard to drive" over the radio.
"It's the most difficult car I've driven here in these conditions," he added.
