analysis

Why Oscar Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty during the F1 São Paulo Grand Prix

26 minutes agoSun 9 Nov 2025 at 11:09pm

Oscar Piastri (left) collided with Kimi Antonelli (centre), which led to the retirement of Charles Leclerc (bottom) in Brazil. (F1)

Oscar Piastri’s hopes of winning his maiden Formula 1 drivers’ championship this season have been severely damaged, and a contentious penalty in Brazil has worsened the blow.

Piastri was penalised for causing a collision during Monday’s (AEDT) São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, which resulted in Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashing out of the race.

The stewards handed Piastri a 10-second penalty, which robbed the Australian of the chance to finish on the podium and lessen the deficit to race winner and championship leader, Lando Norris.

Post-race, Piastri was clearly frustrated by the penalty, while Leclerc, who had his race ended by the incident, believed the Australian should not be given all of the blame.

What happened in the crash?

The flashpoint of the grand prix came on lap six of 71.

The drivers had been behind the safety car following a crash to Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto on the first lap.

At the end of the fifth lap, the safety car pulled into the pits and race leader Norris was in control of the field to restart racing on lap six.

When Norris put his foot down, it appeared to catch second-place driver Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) off guard.

As Norris drove off to the first corner, Antonelli was swarmed by third-placed Leclerc and fourth-placed Piastri.

The trio arrived at the first corner together — a tight left-hand turn that goes downhill.

Leclerc had gone around the outside of Antonelli, while Piastri had taken the inside line.

Antonelli was marginally ahead of Piastri as they both went for the apex of the corner.

As Antonelli cut across Piastri’s line, the Australian slammed on the brakes and briefly locked his front tyres.

Piastri hit the side of Antonelli’s car. The shunt forced Antonelli’s Mercedes across the track and into the Ferrari of Leclerc, who was an innocent bystander.

Piastri moved into second place as Antonelli and Leclerc went off the track.

Antonelli was able to rejoin in third place, while Leclerc lost a wheel on his Ferrari and was forced to retire.

Why was Piastri penalised for the crash?

Piastri, now in second place, immediately got onto his team radio to protest that the crash was not his fault.

“He left me no space,” Piastri said, referring to Antonelli.

But the race stewards took a very different view.

After investigating the incident, the stewards deemed that the Australian was “wholly responsible for the collision”, and penalised him 10 seconds, which was served during Piastri’s first pit stop.

This was the explanation given by the stewards:

At the Safety Car restart on Lap 6, Car 81 (Oscar Piastri) attempted to overtake Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) on the inside of Turn 1. In doing so, PIA did not establish the required overlap prior to and at the apex, as his front axle was not alongside the mirror of Car 12, as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner.

PIA locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable to do so and made contact with ANT. This contact caused ANT to make secondary contact with Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), who was positioned on the outside and was forced to retire from the race as a result.

PIA was therefore wholly responsible for the collision.

The main reason the stewards deemed Piastri at fault was for not being close enough to the front of Antonelli’s car.

For several years, a guideline for any driver passing on the inside is to have the front axle at least alongside the mirror of the rival they are attempting to overtake.

By not meeting this, in the stewards’ determination, Piastri was in the wrong spot and this is the reason contact was made between him and Antonelli.

The stewards also noted that Piastri had locked his brakes going into the corner. Having control of the car is something the stewards would have also considered when making their decision.

Despite not being explicitly stated, the locking of the brakes from Piastri would not have helped his cause during the stewards’ investigation.

Was Piastri unlucky to receive a 10-second penalty?

To the letter of the law, the stewards probably made the right call.

However, trying to have black-and-white rules in a sport that is in a state of perpetual grey areas is fraught with danger and inconsistency.

As the three drivers approached the corner, there was plenty of space for all three if they stayed in their lanes.

Piastri clearly had a car’s width of room as he approached the corner, and that was quickly taken away when Antonelli turned in on the Australian.

Drivers are required to give opponents at least a car’s width if they are battling.

Three-time W Series champion, and Sky Sports pundit, Jamie Chadwick said she felt the only driver who did not use the space well was Antonelli.

“The person who hasn’t used all the room is Kimi [Antonelli] for me,” Chadwick said post-race.

“So I’m on the side where Oscar has been hard done by. I feel like he [Antonelli] could’ve held position but made his life easier.”

The stewards could have also deemed the collision as a racing incident, something often cited when contact is made but no driver had necessarily done anything wrong.

Many collisions, usually on the first lap of a race, are deemed racing incidents because so many cars are in a small section of the circuit.

With that precedent, there is an argument to be made that the collision between Piastri and Antonelli could have been deemed a racing incident because it was the first corner after a safety car restart.

But again, the stewards were not siding with the Australian and whacked him with the penalty.

What did the drivers say about the crash?

Piastri cut a frustrated figure in the media pen after the race.

His title hopes had been damaged, and he finished lower than hoped due to a contentious penalty.

Oscar Piastri moved into second after overtakeing Kimi Antonelli and Charlec Leclerc, but was penalised for making contact during the move. (Reuters: Amanda Perobelli)

Speaking to Sky Sports, Piastri did not believe he could have done anything else, and he was not given enough space by Antonelli.

“I had a very clear opportunity, I went for it,” Piastri said.

“The other two [Antonelli and Leclerc] on the outside braked quite late.

“There was obviously a bit of a lock-up into the corner, but that was because I could see Kimi [Antonelli] wasn’t going to give me any space.

“I can’t disappear, but the decision is what it is.”

Antonelli, unsurprisingly, took a different view of the incident, with the teenager stating he needed to leave room for Leclerc on the outside.

“[Piastri] locked up and started to miss the apex,” Antonelli said. “It was a big hit, to be fair.”

Piastri did find an ally — of sorts — in Leclerc, who was taken out of the race by no fault of his own.

After seeing the replay, Leclerc described Piastri’s overtaking attempt as “optimistic”, but, unlike the stewards, did not believe the crash was all on the Australian.

“Oscar was optimistic, but Kimi knew Oscar was on the inside … and he kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there,” Lelcerc said.

“For me, the blame is not all on Oscar.

“Yes, it was optimistic. But this could have been avoided.”

What is next for Piastri’s championship fight?

There are three rounds left in the Formula 1 season, and Oscar Piastri has an uphill battle to win the championship.

Norris leads with 390 points, 24 points ahead of Piastri on 366.

There are three grands prix and one sprint race left this season, with a maximum of 83 points available.

If Piastri won all four remaining races this season, he would end the year on 449 points.

If Lando Norris finished second in all four races, he would score 61 points and finish with a total of 451 points — winning the world championship by two.

Piastri almost certainly needs to win the three remaining grands prix, and then needs Norris to have a dip in form, to become Australia’s first driver’s champion in 45 years.

The next race is the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will be held on Sunday, November 23.