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Helmut Marko expressed his honest feelings about Oscar Piastri's 10-second time penalty at the British GP, claiming that he fails to understand the inconsistencies with similar incidents in the past. But the Austrian did think Piastri's penalty at Silverstone was a fair one.
Oscar Piastri was penalized at the British GP when he braked aggressively during the safety car restart on lap 21, causing Max Verstappen to take avoiding action behind him. The Stewards deemed his action as reckless, and awarded him a 10-second time penalty. This cost the Aussie his sixth race win in 2025.
Writing his blog on speedweek.com, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko shared his honest thoughts about the incident, while urging the Stewards to be more consistent.
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"It's not the first time we've seen such a hairy scene behind the safety car. I think the penalty is fair, in terms of context, but we wish there was a bit more consistency in the race stewards' judgment," said Marko.
"The fans say a similar situation for Russell in Canada wasn't worthy of a penalty, but Piastri's in England is. They don't understand that, and quite honestly, neither do we," he added.
George Russell had also braked suddenly on the back straight at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve under safety car conditions during the final stages of the Canadian GP. Verstappen again had to take avoiding action behind him.
Red Bull then launched a post-race protest against Russell for braking erratically under the safety car. But the stewards dismissed the protest after a marathon five and a half hour investigation.
In his blog, Marko also went on to explain that Red Bull would have been on par to finish on the podium at the British GP if it wasn't for Verstappen's uncharacteristic spin during the safety car restart. The Dutchman eventually ended up fifth.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were too quick for Red Bull at Silverstone, claims Marko
Helmut Marko explains that the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris would have been too quick for Max Verstappen's Red Bull, even if the British GP was a dry affair. He also claims that Verstappen needed much more time to bring his slick tires to life when compared to the Papaya cars.
Writing for his blog on the aforementioned website, Marko mentioned the following:
"After the race, we realized that we wouldn't have had a chance against the McLarens even on a dry track, but a podium finish should have been within our reach."
"After switching to slicks, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris immediately set very strong lap times. Max needed four laps until the tires were in the best working window. Then he was able to drive as fast as the McLarens, but he lost almost ten seconds in those four laps," he added.
Verstappen was demoted to P10 after he spun on the exit of the second last corner during the safety car restart at Silverstone. From then on, it was a recovery drive for the 4x world champion, but he could only get himself up to P5.
