McLaren reacted with acceptance after Oscar Piastri was given a 10-second penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, a punishment which restricted him to fifth and delivered a hammer blow to his title hopes.<\/p>\n
For that, Guenther Steiner \u2013 the former Red Bull technical operations director and ex-Haas team principal \u2013 handed McLaren<\/a> the \u2018wanker\u2019 award at Interlagos for not going into bat for Piastri against the FIA stewards, even when Charles Leclerc \u2013 the driver eliminated via Piastri\u2019s incident \u2013 has cleared the McLaren driver of full blame.<\/p>\n Guenther Steiner to McLaren: \u2018Need to fight for your team\u2019<\/p>\n At the Lap 6 race restart, Piastri, Mercedes\u2019 Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari went three-wide into Turn 1. The prize was second place.<\/p>\n But, Piastri, ushered up onto the inside kerb, would lock a wheel and tag Antonelli into Leclerc. The incident spelt immediate retirement from the race for Leclerc, who suffered a suspension breakage on the front left, as the tyre went rolling off down the hill.<\/p>\n The stewards deemed Piastri to be \u201cwholly\u201d at fault for the collision, and gave him a 10-second penalty. Leclerc, however, did not believe that Piastri was fully in the wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a shame. Collateral damage of an incident between Oscar and Kimi where, in my opinion, Kimi was as much to blame as Oscar,\u201d Leclerc told the media at Interlagos.<\/p>\n However, it was a verdict from the FIA stewards which McLaren, while branding it \u201charsh\u201d, was accepted.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of the penalty, I would say that definitely on the harsh side,\u201d team principal Andrea Stella told the media.<\/p>\n \u201cOscar, it\u2019s true, we see a little lock-up, but at the same time, he\u2019s able to maintain the trajectory which is ultimately what counts.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, now it\u2019s done, so I reiterate the respect that we have for the stewards, we accept it, we move on.\u201d<\/p>\n Steiner cannot understand that approach from McLaren, and handed out the unwanted \u2018wanker\u2019 title for the race weekend.<\/p>\n On the plus side, McLaren\u2019s Sao Paulo GP winner Lando Norris was crowned the \u2018rockstar\u2019 by Steiner.<\/p>\n Speaking about the Piastri, Antonelli and Leclerc incident during the Red Flags podcast, Steiner said: \u201cAs normally, the FIA doesn\u2019t help, or the stewards don\u2019t help themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, I think the wanker is McLaren. Why you don\u2019t go there and at least say something to the stewards?<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, even Charles Leclerc said it wasn\u2019t Oscar\u2019s fault. Three-wide, and it\u2019s the first lap\u2026 I mean, at some stage, with all these rules and interpretation and 10 seconds instead of five and all that stuff, where does racing end?<\/p>\n \u201cWe just line up and we get away, everybody gets away like they started. Make sure that you don\u2019t even look at anybody, because you get a penalty. But the fans don\u2019t like that.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the F1 2025 title race from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Have we all been wrong about Lando Norris?<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 How Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have avoided bad blood in F1 2025 title rivalry<\/a><\/p>\n Had Steiner been back in the team principal hot seat and Piastri were his driver, \u201cI would have gone there, and I think I would have flipped out, because for me, the guy which was taken out says, \u2018No, actually, Oscar is not at fault.\u2019 Alright then.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, who knows better than him, because he should be the cry baby, and say, \u2018Oh, I was taken out.\u2019 No, he\u2019s the opposite.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to fight for your team. You need to fight. Everything is a fight, and knowing you will lose a fight, but they still try.\u201d<\/p>\n With three grands prix and a Sprint remaining, Piastri is 24 points behind Norris at the top of the Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n