Oscar Piastri’s title push took one of its biggest hits yet on Monday morning at Interlagos after being handed a 10-second penalty for causing a crash in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver launched an aggressive move up the inside of Turn One on Lap 6 and locked his brakes before running out of room.
As Kimi Antonelli turned in from his right, the pair clashed, causing a chain reaction that ultimately ended the race of Charles Leclerc who was further on the outside.
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Piastri was deemed at fault and was handed the hefty penalty, effectively ruining his race in which he finished fifth.
His title rival and teammate Lando Norris won the race, extending his lead in the championship to 24 points. Las Vegas comes next in two weeks.
The penalty has proven divisive given Piastri was well up the inside of Antonelli before the Italian turned in.
On news of the penalty, David Croft said in commentary “that doesn’t sit right with me”.
Racer and broadcaster Alex Brundle was also against the penalty.
“Disagree with that penalty for Piastri – He’s alongside in the braking zone,” Brundle posted on X.
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Piastri reacts after disastrous crash | 00:46
“He doesn’t have to be ahead, just alongside, on the inside to deserve space.
“Antonelli has the real estate to get through side-by-side, because Leclerc gives him big space on the inside.”
Piastri himself said over team radio “he left me no space” — something which he doubled down on after the race when asked if he had any regrets over his move.
“No I don’t think so. I had a very clear opportunity and I went for it,” he said.
“The two on the outside braked quite late and, yeah, there was a bit of a lockup but I could see Kimi wasn’t giving any space, and I can’t disappear.
“The decision is what it is.”
In analysis on Sky Sports, both experts Karun Chandhok and Jamie Chadwick felt like Piastri was hard done by.
“Oh my god!” Norris on Piastri crash | 00:11
Chandhok noted that Antonelli “had to know he was the meat in the sandwich”, while Chadwick said it was a “racing incident”, and that Piastri was “hard done by”.
“The person who hasn’t used all the room is Kimi for me. So I’m on the side where Oscar has been hard done by. I feel like he (Antonelli) could’ve held position but made his life easier,” Chadwick said.
Speaking of Piastri locking up, she added: “He’s not locked up because he’s out of control. He’s locked because he’s (Antonelli) turned in on him a bit (and that’s Piastri’s reaction).”
Chandhok later said that he is “not going to disagree” with that analysis, calling it a “strong” penalty. Although, he did suggest a more lenient penalty on Piastri could be argued given the hefty consequences of the contact.
OScar Piastri crashes in his McLArenSource: FOX SPORTS
Leclerc hinted at a similar outcome when reacting to the incident that ended his race. He said that, having watched the replays, it was clear that Piastri was not completely at fault.
“Oscar was optimistic but Kimi knew he was on the inside I think, and he kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there,” he said.
“For me, the blame isn’t all on Oscar even if he was optimistic, it could’ve been avoided.”
Antonelli defended himself post race, saying that he felt like he was leaving Leclerc enough room without closing in on Piastri.
“But he locked up and started to miss the apex,” Antonelli said of Piastri. “It was a big hit to be fair”.
Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz said he believed it was the “definition of a racing incident”, and that everyone he had heard from in the paddock felt the same.
“Except for the stewards…” he noted on Ted’s Notebook.
“Really?”
There was no avoiding the penalty that leaves Piastri nearly a full race behind Norris on points.
Despite widespread criticism for the decision, Martin Brundle, Alex’s father, said it was “fair”, even if he did sympathise with the move from Piastri.
“That’s the standard penalty. There were no mitigating circumstances, so I’m not surprised,” he said.
“He had to have a go, there’s no doubt about that, but the penalty is a fair cop.”
The full stewards ruling said that Piastri also has had two points added to his superlicence.
“PIA did not establish the required overlap prior to and at the apex, as his front axle was not alongside the mirror of Car 12, as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner,” the ruling reads.
“A 10-second time penalty and 2 penalty points are considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents.”
Classy Piastri congratulates Norris | 00:37
‘NOT THE LEVEL I WANT TO BE’
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella said after the race that there was simply nothing to do other than to take the penalty on the chin.
Nonetheless, he said that the team would review the incident before fully moving on.
Both Stella and Piastri noted that outside of the penalty, there were still issues for Piastri who was again not up to Norris’ race pace.
Piastri still fronted up for the team photo after the race.Source: AFP
“Today, the penalty was one thing, but I don’t think the pace was at a level that I wanted it to be,” Piastri said.
“The second half of the race was potentially not too bad but the first stint was a little bit tough.
“Just trying to get back on top of things with that and have the best weekends we can.”
Stella said that getting Piastri fully back up to speed after a challenging few races remains one of the team’s priorities.
“We need certainly to make sure that we can extract the full potential out of the car and out of Oscar’s driving in all conditions. Lately we have faced these low-grip conditions which have challenged his natural style,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we are able to extract the most even when things don’t work to our natural strengths.
“Also we need to look at the execution of the weekend because crashing in the Sprint, today with the penalty. We also need to review if there was something more we could have done with the strategy to help Oscar.
“So a few things that we need to review, not in a desperate way but in a rational way to capitalise on the strengths.”
TITLE STANDINGS WITH THREE RACES TO GO
1. Lando Norris — 390
2. Oscar Piastri — 366
3. Max Verstappen — 341
REMAINING RACES OF THE 2025 SEASON
November 21-23, Las Vegas Grand Prix
November 28-30, Qatar Grand Prix
December 5-7, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
RESULTS OF THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX,
1. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) 1hr 32min 01.596sec
2. Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes) at 10.388s
3. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 10.750
4. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 15.267
5. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren) 15.749
6. Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas) 29.630
7. Liam Lawson (NZL/Racing Bulls) 52.642
8. Isack Hadjar (FRA/Racing Bulls) 52.873
9. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber) 53.324
10. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) 53.914,