McLaren have decided against lodging an appeal or asking for a formal review of Oscar Piastri’s controversial 10-second penalty in the Brazilian Grand Prix. But team boss Andrea Stella has revealed the team will launch an internal review into how and why it went so wrong for the Aussie driver in Sao Paulo.
Piastri is now 24 points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris with three races and a sprint remaining. The Aussie was leading the championship for most of the season, but suffered a disastrous time in Brazil that continued his recent woes.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella (R) says the team won’t appeal the punishments for Oscar Piastri (L). Image: Getty
He crashed in the sprint race in Sao Paulo, before copping a controversial 10-second penalty in the main race that saw him finish fifth. The majority of the F1 world has slammed the punishment for Piastri, and Stella has admitted it was “harsh”.
But Stella has revealed McLaren won’t take the matter any further and are accepting the punishments – which include two penalty points on Piastri’s licence. “In terms of the penalty, I would say that definitely on the harsh side,” Stella said. “Oscar, it’s true, we see a little lock-up, but at the same time, he’s able to maintain the trajectory which is ultimately what counts.”
McLaren accept controversial sanction for Oscar Piastri
The FIA ruled that Piastri was “wholly responsible” for colliding with Kimi Antonelli, which sent the Mercedes driver into Charles Leclerc and knocked the Ferrari star out of the race. But Stella disagrees with that assessment, saying: “I think the responsibility should be shared with Kimi because Kimi kind of knew that Oscar was on the inside and the collision probably could have been avoided.
“Perhaps Kimi was also worried of having Leclerc on the outside. A difficult situation obviously, but I think overall the penalty is harsh for Oscar to be considered fully to blame for this incident.’
Nevertheless, McLaren won’t be asking the FIA for a formal review or protesting the punishments. “We respect the decision of the stewards, and we need to take it on the chin and look forward,” he added. “Now it’s done, so I reiterate the respect that we have for the stewards, we accept it, we move on.”
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Stella said the team will now look at why it’s gone so pear-shaped for Piastri. The McLaren boss re-iterated some recent comments that Piastri’s driving has partly let him down.
“We need certainly to extract the full potential of the car and out of Oscar’s driving in all conditions,” he said. “Lately, we have faced low grip conditions that have challenged his natural style. We need to make sure that even when it doesn’t work to our natural strength.
“We also need to look at the execution on the weekend, crashing in the sprint, today with the penalty, we also need to review if there is something more we could have done to help Oscar. So, a few things we need to review, certainly not in a desperate way, but a rational way. We have many strengths on Oscar’s side, and we need to make use of them.”
Oscar Piastri crashed in the sprint and had a nightmare at the Brazilian Grand Prix. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)
Norris is on 390 points with three rounds remaining, ahead of Piastri on 366 and Max Verstappen on 341. There’s 83 points on offer across the final three rounds, and Piastri is in desperate need of some better results.