McLaren respond to plea that Oscar Piastri admitted wasn’t ‘fair’

McLaren boss Andrea Stella insists his team had no problem with Oscar Piastri’s request to swap places with teammate Lando Norris in the British Grand Prix.

Piastri was dominating the opening stages of Sunday’s chaotic, rain-affected race at Silverstone after passing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s but his hopes of winning were dashed when he picked up a 10-second penalty for driving erratically before a Safety Car restart.

The championship leader served his penalty during his second pit stop which dropped him behind McLaren teammate and title rival Norris, who went on to claim his first home win.

After re-emerging behind Norris, Piastri made a cheeky suggestion to McLaren over team radio, saying: "I don't think the penalty before was very fair. I know it's a big question, but if you don't think it was fair either, I think we should swap back and race.”

The request was ultimately rejected despite McLaren agreeing that the punishment was “very harsh”.

"We always tell our drivers, don't keep things in the back of your mind while you drive," McLaren team principal Stella said on Sunday evening.

"If you have a point, if you have a suggestion, if you want to let us know what you're thinking, just say it. And then we will evaluate [opinions from] other people, we will make a decision, we will come back to you.

"What Oscar did is exactly what we incentivised our drivers to do; he communicated, he expressed his opinion, which we evaluated.”

Stella added: "The way we managed the situation today was to allow Oscar, in case of a safety car, to retain the lead, because if there had been a safety car, both cars would have pitted.

"Oscar would have paid the penalty, Lando would have waited, and the two McLarens would have gone out in the same order as they came in.

"But at the point in which we needed to have the transition on the dry tyres, then the penalty was paid, and at that stage we thought that he should just retain the natural order again.

“So I think this was fair for both, and I'm sure that Oscar will understand and agree with this point of view.”

Piastri knew request wasn’t ‘fair’ on Norris

Piastri, who has seen his championship advantage over Norris cut down to eight points following back-to-back defeats to his teammate, acknowledged that the plea “wasn’t going to happen”.

“I thought I would ask the question,” he said. “I knew what the answer was going to be before I asked, but I just wanted a small glimmer of hope that maybe I could get it back. But no, I knew it wasn't going to happen.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Lando didn't do anything wrong. So I don't think it would have been particularly fair to have swapped.”