On paper, Oscar Piastri lost 15 more points to his World Championship-leading McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on Sunday. He also lost another five points to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
While Norris clinched his second Grand Prix victory in a row, Verstappen stormed onto the podium (P3) after the pit start, Piastri crossed the finish line in P5 after a 10-second time penalty.
Piastri incurred the time penalty when he tried a maneuver in Turn 1 during the restart after the first of two safety car phases of the day, which didn’t turn out quite as planned. Norris led the field, followed by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Piastri.
Behind leader Norris, the three pursuers mentioned fanned out, with Leclerc on the outside lane, Antonelli in the middle and Piastri on the inside lane. While the front wheel of his McLaren on the inside of the curve locked, Piastri slipped into Antonelli’s Mercedes, which began to slide due to the contact and hit Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Leclerc was the one who suffered. The left front tire of the Ferrari gave up due to contact with Antonelli’s Mercedes through no fault of his own. For Leclerc, the race was over after just over five laps.
Antonelli and Piastri continued and crossed the finish line. But while Antonelli came second behind winner Norris, Piastri couldn’t get more than fifth place after the time penalty imposed on him.
Apart from the 10-second time penalty, Piastri, who the race stewards identified as the sole cause of the collision, also had two penalty points added to his super license.
Piastri finds his punishment difficult to understand
The perspectives of the three drivers involved in the collision differ. Oscar Piastri said in his media round after the race: “In my opinion I had a very clear chance on the inside. So I tried it. Yes, there was a wheel locking up, but I was right at the apex, on the white line. I couldn’t go any further to the left and I can’t just disappear into thin air.”
“It was a bit damp inside,” said Piastri, who explained: “Yes, there was a wheel that locked up, but I think I still managed to stay on the inside white line. From what I remember, I had it pretty well under control.”
The McLaren driver doesn’t entirely agree with the double penalty – the ten seconds he had to serve at the pit stop, plus the two penalty points: “If I had clearly understeered and missed the apex, then I would understand it. But the fact that I was as far to the left as I could be makes a difference [die Strafe] difficult to understand.”
Antonelli between Piastri and Leclerc “in a very difficult position”
Kimi Antonelli, who drove in the middle on the approach to Turn 1 on the sixth lap, with Piastri on his left and Leclerc on his right, describes his point of view after P2 in the press conference.
“First of all, about the restart: I accelerated in a place where it was still wet. That’s why I had spinning wheels and lost momentum on the way to Turn 1. But to be honest, I was in a very difficult position because I had a car on the outside and a car on the inside next to me,” said the Mercedes driver.
“I tried to brake late, but not too late. The problem was that I could no longer see the car next to me (Piastri; editor’s note). I still tried to take a good line for my position, but I was hit,” remembers Antonelli.
“I was lucky,” said Antonelli, “that I got away like that because I obviously hit Charles pretty hard. Unfortunately, I finished his race, but I was lucky that I escaped with relatively little damage. My car only had minor damage. I think the steering wheel wasn’t quite straight, but I was very lucky that I was able to continue driving at all.”
Leclerc: “It’s not just Oscar’s fault”
And Charles Leclerc, for whom the race ended immediately due to the collision, has a different perspective than Piastri and Antonelli. “Oscar was optimistic. But I think Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside and he drove the corner as if Oscar hadn’t even been there,” said the Ferrari driver in his media round after the bitter failure.
“For me, the blame doesn’t lie solely with Oscar. Yes, it was optimistic, but that could have been avoided. I’m frustrated,” said Leclerc, who underlines in this context: “Ultimately, I’m neither angry with Oscar nor with Kimi. Such things happen, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s entirely Oscar’s fault.”
The verdict of the race stewards verbatim
The race stewards actually went as far as Leclerc wouldn’t go. They punished Piastri, the only one of the three involved. The verdict in full: “At the restart after the safety car phase on lap 6, the car with starting number 81 (Piastri) tried to overtake the car with starting number 12 (Antonelli) on the inside of curve 1.”
“Piastri was not far enough forward before and at the apex because the front axle of his car was not next to the rear-view mirror of car #12, as specified in the driving guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a curve.”
“Piastri caused the brakes to lock as he tried to avoid contact by slowing down, but was unable to prevent this and collided with Antonelli. This contact resulted in a secondary collision with the number 16 car (Leclerc), which was on the outside, which subsequently eliminated him from the race.”
“Piastri was therefore solely responsible for the collision. A time penalty of ten seconds and two penalty points are considered appropriate and in line with recent precedents,” said the FIA race stewards’ verdict.
Andrea Stella shares Piastri’s and also Leclerc’s view
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella supports his driver Oscar Piastri. In his own media round after the race, he shared both Piastri’s view and that of Ferrari driver Leclerc. “It’s true that we have a slight blocking [der Räder von Piastris Auto] see, but at the same time he can hold the line. That’s what ultimately counts,” says Stella.
“I think,” continues the McLaren team boss, “the responsibility should be shared with Kimi, since Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside and the collision probably could have been avoided. Maybe Kimi also had concerns about having Leclerc on the outside, which is of course a difficult situation.”
“But I think overall the punishment for Oscar is harsh because he cannot be held solely responsible for this incident. At the same time, it is what it is. I reiterate our respect for the race stewards. We accept the decision and look forward,” says Stella.
Piastri, who is now 24 points behind leader Lando Norris in the 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, is trying to see the whole thing as positively as possible. “The decision is what it is. It was one of several difficult moments today and this weekend, but I wouldn’t have done anything differently if I had another chance,” said the Australian.