Marko speaks out on Oscar Piastri penalty with Russell comparison

Red Bull Racing special advisor Helmut Marko has admitted that he and the team don’t quite understand the 10-second penalty Oscar Piastri received during the British Grand Prix.

In a column for Speedweek, Marko requested more continuity in stewarding decisions as a result.

Helmut Marko calls for consistency with Oscar Piastri penalty

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri looked as if he were going to dominate the 2025 British Grand Prix until a penalty handed his victory off to teammate Lando Norris.

Piastri was able to overtake polesitter Max Verstappen in the early stages of a weather-impacted race, after which point he amassed an impressive lead over the competition as the race was regularly stalled by weather and safety cars.

Coming into Lap 22, Piastri was heading off the field behind the safety car when the lights went out. In response, Piastri braked hard, forcing second-placed Verstappen to take evasive action to avoid hitting him.

Stewards were quick to act; they deemed Piastri’s braking had been “erratic” and therefore dangerous, which resulted in him taking a 10-second penalty.

Verstappen, meanwhile, seemed to perhaps lose concentration as a result of the McLaren driver’s sudden braking; when the track went green, he lost control of his RB21 and dropped back to 10th.

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Many fans and pundits were somewhat perplexed at the stewards’ decision to slap Piastri with such a hefty penalty, particularly after a similar situation in Canada went unpunished.

At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, it was George Russell who was pacing the field and who suddenly and dramatically slowed down. Again, Verstappen was the driver who had to take evasive action — but in Russell’s case, the stewards ultimately determined that no further action was required.

Red Bull requested a review of the decision after the race, though its protest was ultimately thrown out. Because of that, it seemed to be quite the surprise when Piastri was slapped with a 10-second penalty in England for a similar infraction.

“The 10-second penalty for Piastri was a major upset at Silverstone,” Marko wrote in his Speedweek column.

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen such a hairy scene behind the safety car. In terms of the framework, I think the penalty was okay, but we would have liked to see a bit more continuity in the race stewards’ judgement.

“The fans say that a similar situation involving Russell in Canada is not worthy of a penalty, whereas Piastri in England is. They don’t understand that, and quite honestly — neither do we.”

After the race restarted, Verstappen had what Marko described as “a rare spin” that saw him drop from second to 10th on the grid; while the Dutchman was able to battle up to fifth in the final standings, Marko states Red Bull felt he’d have been capable of a third-place finish had that spin not happened.

Marko concluded that, “That doesn’t make Verstappen’s title defence any easier, but we’re not writing off the title just yet.

“We still have twelve Grands Prix and four sprints to go, which means 300 championship points from the GPs and 32 from the sprint races.

“Against this background and also due to further improvements for Belgium, which should bring us closer to McLaren, we don’t see the championship fight as over.”

Read next: How history shows officials got Oscar Piastri penalty call right