Race officials from the FIA have offered insights into the 10-second sanction imposed on Oscar Piastri, pointing to the McLaren racer as the instigator of a three-car melee during the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix involving Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
During a lap six restart following a safety car period, Piastri, who was running fourth, made a move down the inside of Antonelli and Leclerc to create a three-abreast situation heading into Turn 1, with the aim of overtaking both drivers to challenge front-runner Lando Norris. However, Piastri’s front-left tyre locked, leading to a slide into Antonelli. The young Italian found himself caught between Piastri’s McLaren and Leclerc’s Ferrari, with the impact from Piastri sending Antonelli into Leclerc’s vehicle.
The Ferrari pilot suffered the most significant consequences, losing his front-left tyre and sustaining what proved to be race-ending damage to the suspension, whereas Piastri and Antonelli were able to continue without apparent harm.
Following a thorough review, the FIA’s race officials concluded that Piastri was entirely responsible for the incident. Consequently, they penalized him with a 10-second time addition to be served during his subsequent pitstop. This penalty ultimately demoted him from second to fifth place. Furthermore, Piastri had two penalty points added to his competition license.
Photo by: Mark Thompson – Getty Images
In their official determination, the stewards stated that Piastri was not sufficiently alongside Antonelli to rightfully claim the corner. They further observed that the Australian driver experienced a lock-up while attempting to abort the maneuver.
“During the safety car period’s conclusion on Lap 6, Car 81 (Oscar Piastri) made an attempt to pass Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) using the inside line at Turn 1,” the official statement explained. “In executing this move, PIA failed to achieve the necessary overlap ahead of and at the apex. Specifically, his front axle did not reach the vicinity of Car 12’s mirror, as stipulated in the Driving Standard Guidelines pertaining to inside overtaking at a corner.”
“PIA engaged the brakes in an attempt to prevent contact by decelerating, but his efforts were insufficient, leading to a collision with ANT. This initial contact then precipitated a secondary collision between ANT and Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), who was positioned on the outside, ultimately forcing Leclerc’s withdrawal from the race.
“Therefore, PIA bears full responsibility for the collision. A 10-second time penalty along with the assignment of 2 penalty points are deemed suitable and consistent with previous rulings in similar situations.”
As a result of finishing fifth, Piastri witnessed the gap between himself and McLaren teammate Norris, also a contender for the title, widen to 24 points with three races remaining on the schedule. Norris secured his seventh grand prix victory of the 2025 season.
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– The Autosport.com Team
