Penalties and consequences at Interlagos
Oscar Piastri received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points. The penalty followed a collision at the restart after the safety car at Interlagos. He initially appeared to cross the line in second place. The penalty caused him to drop to spot five.
What exactly happened?
The collision occurred at Turn 1. Piastri was trying to move from fourth to second place. He pushed past Kimi Antonelli on the inside. In the process, the two hit each other.
Antonelli then made contact with Charles Leclerc. Leclerc had to abandon his race as a result. Race control determined that Piastri was entirely responsible for the collision.
Why was he found guilty?
The stewards enforced the guidelines for overtaking on the inside. Those rules say the attacking driver must have sufficient overlap before and at the apex point. Piastri did not meet that, according to them. His front axle was not next to Antonelli's mirror at the right time.
Piastri braked and locked his wheels as he tried to avoid hitting Antonelli. He did not succeed and contact ensued. That collision resulted in Antonelli being spun away and Leclerc getting involved.
Piastri's reaction
Piastri said after the race that he did not know where to go. He indicated that he would not have done anything else. According to him, going further in was too ambitious. He stated that he had already gone as far to the left as possible.
- Time penalty: 10 seconds
- Penalty points: 2
- Results after penalty: fifth place
- Consequence: Leclerc dropped out
Impact on the championship
The penalty cost Piastri valuable points. He lost ground on both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Norris won the grand prix. Verstappen finished third after starting from the pits.
In short: the stewards' decision and the guidelines applied determined the final result. Piastri is left with questions, but the penalty stood.
EN 
NL 
DE