Oscar Piastri insisted that his driving was "well within the rules" after a 10-second penalty denied him victory at the British Grand Prix.
McClaren teammate Lando Norris went on to win his home race after the Australian was made to serve a 10-second stop-and-go penalty. He was sentenced after appearing to brake-test Max Verstappen at the safety car restart.
The stewards accused Piastri of "erratic driving" and said Max Verstappen, who was running second at the time, had to take "evasive action to avoid a collision".
But Piastri, who is still first in the drivers’ championship, maintains his innocence: "I felt it was well within the rules, and I did it once already in that race. I don't really get it.
"I hit the brakes, and at the same time as I did, the lights went out on the safety car. I didn't accelerate because I can control the pace from there.
"I didn't do anything differently to my first restart. I didn't go slower. I don't think Max had to evade me. So I am a bit confused to say the least. I know I deserved a lot more than I did today and when you don't get the result you deserve, it hurts.”
While Piastri was disappointed to finish second, Nico Hulkenberg was in seventh heaven after finishing third, ending his 15-year wait to stand on an F1 podium.
In doing so, he shed the weight of having been the longest-serving F1 driver to have never achieved a top-three finish, finally achieving the feat in his 239th start..
To do this, he had to hold off none other than Lewis Hamilton, so often unbeatable in Britain."I was thinking that he's going to give it all here in front of his home crowd," Hulkenberg said. "And I was like: 'Sorry, guys, but it's also my day."'
Starting from 19th on the grid, a perfectly judged drive in the rain and smart strategy saw the 37-year-old German outperform his uncompetitive Sauber car as other contenders span off the road.
"It's pretty surreal and to be honest, not sure how it all happened. Obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race," Hulkenberg said.
Hulkenberg has raced for many teams, including Williams, Force India, and Renault, but has never enjoyed a drive in a frontrunning car. His previous best race result was fourth place, achieved in 2013 and 2016.
His was the first podium finish for Sauber since Kamui Kobayashi was third at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2012, and the first podium finish for any German driver in F1 since Sebastian Vettel in 2021.
Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda now has the most races of any current driver without a podium at 99, but Hulkenberg still holds the all-time record for most races without a win.
Additional reporting: Agencies
