The FIA have clarified that Oscar Piastri is still six points away from incurring a race ban, after initially claiming he was just two away from having to sit out a race. F1 fans and experts are questioning whether stewards were too harsh to hit him with a 10-second penalty in the Brazilian Grand Prix, before he also copped two penalty points on his license.
Piastri fell further behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris in Sunday’s main race, with Norris claiming victory as Piastri finished fifth. The Aussie’s race was ruined by a controversial 10-second penalty he copped for colliding with Kimi Antonelli, which meant the Mercedes driver shunted Charles Leclerc off the track and ended the Ferrari driver’s race.
Oscar Piastri was given a 10-second penalty for the incident that ended Charles Leclerc’s race. Image: Getty/F1
On the restart after an early safety car, Piastri tried to make a move on the inside to get past Antonelli. The Aussie appeared to have the position secured, but Antonelli turned into him around the corner as Poastri locked up his brakes. The pair clipped wheels, and Antonelli was sent into Leclerc – who had to retire from the race after suffered suspension damage.
Piastri was in second place after the incident, but stewards later ordered him to serve a time penalty. It meant instead of being in position to finish on the podium, he was shunted down to eighth place and could only make up three spots.
The Aussie protested, “He left me with no space”, and speaking after the race he said he had no regrets. “I had a very clear opportunity, I went for it, the two on the outside braked quite late,” he said. “There was obviously a bit of a lock-up into the corner, but that was because I could see Kimi was not going to give me any space. I can’t disappear but the decision is what it is.”
Oscar Piastri cops two penalty points as well
Piastri was also slapped with two penalty points on his record after the completion of the race, taking him to a total of six across the last 12 months. The FIA originally claimed he was on eight – which would have meant four more penalty points would trigger a ban – before backflipping and clarifying the situation.
Stewards said in their findings that Piastri “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. Piastri locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable to do so and made contact with Antonelli.
“This contact caused Antonelli to make secondary contact with Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), who was positioned on the outside and was forced to retire from the race as a result. Piastri was therefore wholly responsible for the collision. A 10-second time penalty and 2 penalty points are considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents.”
F1 experts question Oscar Piastri punishment
Speaking in commentary, a number of experts disagreed with the penalty. Former driver Jolyon Palmer said: “(The penalty) doesn’t feel right to me. It’s judged on the outcome but the outcome only looks bad because Antonelli’s coming across.
“If Oscar doesn’t hit the brakes, he’d stay there, they’d still have an accident because Antonelli would come across but then you’d say it’s Antonelli’s fault. Tricky one for Kimi, I’m not blaming him because he’s in the middle of a three-car sandwich so he’s got to turn in.
“(Piastri) gets the run, goes for the inside, he’s completely there on the inside. He just naturally brakes. You don’t want to have a crash, he’s entitled to the space. The space is only going because Kimi’s turning in. In my opinion that’s a racing incident but it’s the stewards’ opinion that counts.”
The incident with Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli shunted Charles Leclerc off the track. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)
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Karun Chandhok was also critical, saying: “[Piastri] locked up not because he’s out of control. He’s locked up because he’s seen Kimi turning in on him a bit. Hs natural reaction is to brake that little bit harder.
“Turn as much left as you can to get to the white line, causing that lock up. For me, even with the lock up, he’s still as far over to the white line as he can be and still hasn’t been given the room.
“He (Piastri) got the penalty, from what I understand, is because he’s ‘out of control’ because he’s locked up. I don’t think he’s out of control entirely. He’s still quite close to the apex. He’s not heading on a trajectory over here yet before they make contact. So I still think he’s been hard done by.
“I think it’s a racing incident. Three into one should in theory go, but it rarely goes, just because that’s the way that racing drivers are. If you were to pass the blame, I’d put it more on Kimi. I think he had an amazing race today, but in that instance I think there was a little bit more opportunity to give Oscar space and avoid contact.”
Even Leclerc agreed, suggesting it was more Antonelli’s fault. “Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside, I think, and he kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there,” the Ferrari driver said. “This could’ve been avoided. I’m frustrated. At the end of the day I’m not angry with Oscar or Kimi, these things happen.”
Lando Norris sitting pretty in F1 championship race
But Martin Brundle didn’t necessarily agree, saying: “I think he might be quite relieved it’s not anything more than that (10 seconds) actually,” he said. “That’s the standard penalty, I’m not surprised. (The move) gave him a lovely track position but it’s now given him quite a headache.”
Norris is now 24 points clear of Piastri with only three races and one sprint to go. With a grand prix win worth 25 points, that puts Norris almost a whole race victory ahead of his Aussie teammate.
Antonelli hung on for a career-best second place, while Red Bull champion Max Verstappen finished third after a stunning drive despite started from the pit lane. Verstappen is now 49 points adrift of Norris, and only 25 behind Piastri. There’s 83 points to play for across the final three rounds.
F1 championship race with three rounds remaining:
Lando Norris extended his F1 championship lead. (Photo by MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL/AFP via Getty Images)
with AAP