Max Verstappen was left ruing some underhand tactics at the British Grand Prix that left him sideways on the Silverstone circuit.The four-time champion nabbed a shock pole for round 12, but rain and early chaos saw McLaren’s Oscar Piastri pass him early on.Verstappen had to avoid contact with Piastri under the safety carSkyA few corners later the champion was sidewaysHowever, the pair stayed in close contact, and when a third of three safety cars left the race championship leader, Piastri tried another trick to keep Verstappen behind him.The race leader is allowed to set the pace under safety car conditions, but Piastri took that privilege to the extreme on lap 21 as he slammed on the brakes down the Brooklands straight.The tactic completely caught out Verstappen who nearly hit the Australian and passed him.Fuming over team radio, the No.1 said: “Woah mate, f***!“He just suddenly again slows down!”Yet seconds later Verstappen had other problems, as dropped his Red Bull heading through the final sector to restart the race.The Dutchman dropped from second to ninth, alleviating the pressure on leader Piastri.However, the McLaren driver soon had other problems, as the FIA stewards declared slowing down a rule break.A ten-second penalty was handed out to the Australian, but that wasn’t much salve to Verstappen who was left scrapping for tenth.More to follow…