Oscar Piastri’s bid for world championship suffered another setback at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as he finished fifth after receiving a penalty for colliding with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in an accident that caused Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to retire.
A day after he hit a wet curb and crashed out of a sprint, Piastri won Sunday’s race, which the Briton won, leaving him a season-best 24 points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris with three rounds remaining after finishing one place below qualification in a race that was handed a 10-second penalty by the stewards.
Piastri’s hopes of challenging Norris crumbled on lap six when race action resumed after an early safety car.
As the race progressed towards the first corner with Norris in the lead, Antonelli in second place was attacked by Leclerc and Piastri on either side of him, and the three cars entered the braking zone side by side.
Piastri aimed for the inside of the Mercedes, but the two cars made contact and the impact sent Antonelli crashing into the unlucky Leclerc on the outside, causing race-ending damage to the Ferrari.
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Sao Paulo Grand Prix Highlights
Piastri, who locked his front wheels before making contact with the Mercedes’ rear tires, moved into second place as Antonelli went wide, but stewards quickly investigated the incident and ruled that the McLaren driver was “fully responsible for the collision”.
Stewards said Piastri was at fault because his “front axle was not lined up with the mirrors (of Antonelli’s car) as defined in the Driving Standards Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of corners.”
Police gave him a 10 second time penalty, which he imposed on his first pit stop, and two penalty points were also added to his superlicence. This resulted in a sanction “considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedent.”
F1’s penalty guidelines state that the basic penalty for causing a collision is 10 seconds, but a five-second penalty can be imposed in “mitigating circumstances”.
But Mr. Piastri saw the situation differently.
In an interview with Sky Sports F1, he was asked if he had any regrets about the transfer, and answered, “I don’t think so.”
“I had a clear chance and I went for it. The other two cars on the outside braked quite late. There was obviously a bit of a lock-up in the corner, but that was because I knew Kimi wasn’t going to give me any space.
“I can’t disappear, but that’s the decision.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said at a press conference immediately after the race that he had not yet had a chance to fully reflect on the incident, but said, “For now, we respect the stewards’ decision and move forward with confidence.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who was not in Brazil but watching the race from another country, said Piastri’s penalty was “severe” in a social media post congratulating the team on Norris’ race win.
Where did Leclerc and Antonelli think the blame lies?
Leclerc said despite his frustration that his race ended just before it started, he shouldn’t have put all the blame on Piastri.
“Oscar was optimistic, but I think Kimi knew Oscar was on the inside and he turned the corner as if Oscar wasn’t there,” Leclerc said.
“For me, the blame is not entirely on Oscar.
“Yes, I was optimistic, but this could have been avoided. I’m frustrated. At the end of the day, I’m not mad at Oscar or you. These things happen, but I’m not going to go so far as to say it’s all Oscar’s fault. I don’t think so.”
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Karun Chandhok and Jamie Chadwick analyze opening lap crashes and driver reactions for Oscar Piastri, Antonelli and Leclerc
Antonelli, who lost momentum on the restart and was caught between the two, said he tried to give Piastri some space, but the Australian locked up and simply slid in.
“I had a bad restart. I spun the wheels. I gave a little too much power,” said the Italian, but he held off the oncoming Max Verstappen in the closing stages to take a career-best second place.
“To be fair, I was trying to cover Charles and then I saw Piastri coming. Obviously it wasn’t the best position to be[in the middle of them]. I braked late without locking up or anything, trying to leave Charles some space and not get too close on the inside, because by the time I broke I couldn’t see Piastri anymore.
“But then obviously he started to lock up and miss the apex and hit me. In fairness, it was a big hit and it was really disappointing to end Charles’ race.”
What did the experts think?
Sky Sports’ F1 pundits expressed sympathy for Piastri in their post-race analysis of the incident.
Jamie Chadwick described it as a “racing incident” in which Antonelli also shared some of the blame, saying, “For me, it’s Kimi who didn’t necessarily use all the room available. So I’m on the side of thinking Oscar did it badly.”
“Kimi probably could have stayed in that position, but I think he would have made Oscar’s life easier and not risked that kind of contact in this case.
“In my opinion, he didn’t lock up because he lost control. He locked up because he saw you swerve a little bit, and his natural reaction was to press the brake pedal a little harder and turn as far left as he could towards the white line, causing the lock up.”
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Last lap drama as Lando Norris wins in Sao Paulo and Antonelli blocks Max Verstappen’s charge to take second place
“But even with the lock-up, he’s still far from the white line, and you haven’t given him any room yet.”
Karun Chandhok said: “The only thing is that when the guidelines were considered, we decided, ‘Well, he didn’t line up next to the front axle to mirror at the apex.’ But I think it’s a little flawed to apply that here, because if Oscar had dive-bombed and tried to get to the apex first, as Max did in Mexico, Antonelli might have been able to wipe out Leclerc much earlier in the corner.”
“Actually, just like in Mexico, I think this is where the guidelines are failing again. I agree with Jamie. It’s a pretty strong penalty, probably five seconds (for the second car), because it was bad for the other two cars, so maybe five seconds would have been better for me.”
F1’s thrilling title race continues until the Las Vegas Grand Prix from November 21-23, broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
