Max Verstappen started from pole position during the British GP, but once again had to concede to the fast McLarens in the race. For a long time, he had a view of a podium spot, but an unfortunate spin at the restart cost him valuable positions. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri was heavily penalized for an incident behind the safety car. Christian Horner wonders why the stewards did not intervene in a similar offense by George Russell.
Behind the second safety car, race leader Oscar Piastri was said to have braked too hard, causing Verstappen to unexpectedly overtake him from second place. The stewards judged harshly and imposed a time penalty of no less than ten seconds on the Australian, causing him to see the victory slip away. For Verstappen, it made little difference; he spun at the restart and fell far back in the field. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner found the penalty surprisingly heavy, especially since the stewards did not penalize George Russell during the GP of Canada for a virtually identical incident.
“I was not surprised that Piastri got a penalty,” Horner told the press in Silverstone. “But I was surprised that George Russell got away without a penalty in Montreal.” Russell went full on the brakes behind the safety car there, causing Verstappen – then also second – to overtake him. Was Russell trying to stitch him up for a penalty? After all, Verstappen was risking disqualification for the subsequent race in Austria at that moment. However, the stewards were lenient and did not impose a penalty, despite an official protest from Red Bull. If Russell had then received a ten-second time penalty, like Piastri now, he would have fallen back to fifth place. Verstappen would probably have won the race then.
“We are focusing on the positive points,” the team boss continued optimistically. “We know where we need to improve. And today, at least we beat George Russell,” Horner added with a wink. Russell had qualified fourth, but his gamble on slicks didn’t pay off. Both he and teammate Kimi Antonelli fell far back as a result – Russell ultimately finished tenth.
Low-Downforce
Horner also explained Red Bull’s choice for a low-downforce setup at Silverstone. During the dry qualification, this yielded results, but in the rain, Max Verstappen struggled with grip in his RB21. “We have reduced the downforce level to about the level of Monza,” he explained. “That balance gave Max the opportunity to take a fantastic pole position and thereby equal Sebastian Vettel’s record.”
“The choice was based on a weather forecast of a 20% chance of rain in the morning, followed by dry conditions,” Horner continued. “I don’t think there was a single weather station that still predicted so much rain. On a wet track, it quickly became apparent that Piastri had much more pace. But when the asphalt dried up and the tires started to wear, you really saw the advantage of McLaren; they drove miles away from the rest. When it started to rain again, we had timed our pit stop well,” Horner concluded. “But due to those safety cars, the race slipped through our fingers. All in all, it was a tough afternoon. If we had started two hours later, the result would have looked very different. McLaren was tough to beat, but we could at least have been on the podium.”
