Oscar Piastri’s fading championship problem suffered one other setback within the Sao Paulo Grand Prix when he completed fifth after a penalty for colliding with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in an incident that triggered the retirement of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
A day after crashing out of the Dash after working over a moist kerb, Piastri dropped a season-high 24 factors behind McLaren team-mate Lando Norris with simply three rounds to go after the Briton received Sunday’s race and the Australian completed one place decrease than the place he certified following a 10-second penalty for the incident.
Piastri’s hopes of difficult Norris unravelled firstly of lap six when the race restarted following an early Security Automobile.
With Norris main as the sphere raced in direction of the Senna Esses, second-placed Antonelli got here beneath assault from Leclerc and Piastri behind with the automobiles going three abreast into the braking zone.
Piastri went for a transfer down the within of the Mercedes however the two automobiles made contact after the McLaren locked a wheel, with the impression buffeting Antonelli into the luckless Leclerc on his outdoors and inflicting race-ending injury to the Ferrari.
Piastri moved into second as Antonelli additionally ran broad however the stewards quickly investigated the incident and dominated that the McLaren driver had been “wholly responsible for the collision”.
They handed him a 10-second time penalty, which he served at his first pit cease, with two penalty factors additionally added to his superlicence, in a sanction that was “considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents”.
Stewards stated as Piastri’s “front axle was not alongside the mirror of [Antonelli’s car], as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner” he had been absolutely guilty.
Piastri, nevertheless, noticed the scenario in a different way when talking after the race.
Requested by Sky Sports activities F1 if he had any regrets about going for the transfer, he stated: “No, I don’t think so.
“I had a really clear alternative, I went for it. The opposite two on the surface braked fairly late. There was clearly a little bit of a lock-up into the nook however that is as a result of I might see Kimi was not going to present me any area.
“I can’t disappear but the decision is what it is.”
With out having but had likelihood to totally evaluate the incident within the speedy aftermath of the race, staff principal Andrea Stella stated that “for the moment we respect the decision of the stewards, take it on the chin and move forwards”.
However Zak Brown, McLaren’s chief govt who was watching the race from elsewhere having not been in Brazil, stated in a social media submit congratulating the staff on Norris’ race win that Piastri’s penalty had been “harsh”.
The place did Leclerc and Antonelli suppose the blame lay?
Regardless of the frustration of seeing his race ended nearly earlier than it had begun, Leclerc stated Piastri shouldn’t have had all of the blame pinned on him.
“Oscar was optimistic but Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside, I think, and he kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there,” stated Leclerc.
“For me the blame is not all on Oscar. Yes, it was optimistic, but this could have been avoided. I’m frustrated. At the end of the day I’m not angry with Oscar or Kimi, these things happen, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was all Oscar’s fault. I don’t think it is.”
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Karun Chandhok and Jamie Chadwick analyse the opening-lap collision between Oscar Piastri, Antonelli and Leclerc in addition to response from the drivers
Antonelli, who had been caught in the midst of the 2 after dropping momentum on the restart, stated he had tried to present Piastri room and that the Australian had locked up and easily slid into him.
“I had a bad restart. I got some wheelspin. A bit too aggressive on power,” stated the Italian, who went on to assert a career-best second after holding off a charging Max Verstappen within the closing laps.
“To be fair, I was trying to cover Charles but then I saw Piastri coming. Obviously it wasn’t the best position to be in [in the middle of them]. I tried to brake late without locking up or anything and leave space to Charles and then try not to close excessively on the inside because when I broke I didn’t see Piastri anymore. But then obviously he locked up, started to miss the apex and then he hit me. It was a big hit, to be fair, and just a shame to end Charles’ race.”
What was the pundits’ verdicts?
Of their post-race evaluation of the incident, the Sky Sports activities F1 pundits expressed sympathy for Piastri.
Describing it as a “racing incident” wherein Antonelli additionally shared among the blame, Jamie Chadwick stated: “The person that hasn’t necessarily used all the room available to him is Kimi, for me. So I’m on the side where I think Oscar has been hard done by.
“I believe Kimi might nonetheless perhaps have held the place however made Oscar’s life simpler and never risked that little bit of contact on this occasion.
“He’s not, in my opinion, locked up because he’s out of control. He has locked up because he has seen Kimi turning in a bit of him and his natural reaction is to press the brake pedal a little bit harder, turn as much left as you can towards the white line, causing that lock-up.
“However even with the lock-up he is nonetheless as far to the white line as he will be and nonetheless hasn’t been given the room by Kimi.”
Karun Chandhok said: “The one factor is the best way the rules are in the mean time they’ve checked out it and gone ‘effectively, he wasn’t alongside entrance axle to reflect on the apex’. However I believe that could be a barely flawed factor to use right here as a result of if Oscar had gone dive-bombing in to attempt to get to the apex first, as we noticed Max doing in Mexico, Antonelli might have then worn out Leclerc even earlier within the nook.
“I actually think this is where, once again like Mexico, the guidelines don’t quite work. I agree with Jamie, it’s quite a strong penalty, Maybe a five [second one] because the consequences were bad for the two other cars. So, for me, maybe a five second would have been ok.”
Method 1’s thrilling title race continues with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 21-23, reside on Sky Sports activities F1. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
