Explained: Why Oscar Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty in the F1 Brazilian GP

Oscar Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty during the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix for causing a collision. The Aussie driver made an overambitious move on the inside of Turn 1, as he locked up and made contact with Kimi Antonelli.

Piastri had started the Brazilian GP from P4, as he aimed to get past Charles Leclerc (3rd) and Kimi Antonelli (2nd) in a hurry to be able to fight Lando Norris for the race win. But the 24-year-old was unable to make a move at the start of the race and remained fourth.

An early safety car gave Piastri another chance to challenge Leclerc and Antonelli on the restart. When the race went green on Lap 6, the McLaren driver dived down the inside at Turn 1 in an ambitious move, locked up, and clipped Antonelli’s side pod. The contact also ended Leclerc’s race, as the Ferrari driver, who was positioned on the outside, was inadvertently collected in the collision.

Oscar Piastri was then referred to the stewards, who deemed him "wholly responsible" for the collision with Kimi Antonelli and imposed a 10-second penalty.

In a report published after the race, the stewards noted that Piastri's front axle was not alongside the mirror of Antonelli's Mercedes, meaning he "did not establish the required overlap prior to and at the apex" to overtake on the inside, according to the Driving Standard Guidelines. Piastri has also been handed two penalty points for the incident.

The Brazilian GP weekend dealt a heavy blow to Piastri’s title hopes. After retiring from the Sprint on Saturday, a race penalty on Sunday left him out of podium contention, forcing him to settle for P5. He now trails teammate Lando Norris by 24 points with three rounds remaining.

---

Charles Leclerc reflects on Oscar Piastri's move that ended his Brazilian GP

Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri collide on Lap 6 - Brazilian GP - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc has claimed that Oscar Piastri did not deserve all of the blame for his incident with Kimi Antonelli during the Brazilian GP, which ended the Monegasque's race in unfortunate circumstances. The 28-year-old claimed that Antonelli needed to be more mindful of the McLaren just to the left of him while turning in.

Speaking to the media after his race ended on Sunday, Leclerc mentioned that Oscar Piastri's penalty was understandable due to the nature of the rules, but added that he was not wholly responsible for the collision.

"In this case I think Kimi knew and was aware that Oscar was on the inside. Yes he was not side by side, which is the way it is written in the rule book, but you cannot really do a corner like nobody is on the inside if someone is on the inside, no matter how far he is," said Leclerc, via Formula 1. "So for me it's more of a fifty-fifty blame for Kimi and Oscar, I don't think Oscar deserved all the blame there," he added.

Leclerc then concluded by saying that he was left frustrated with that moment ending his race, as he was expecting to fight for a podium had he stayed in the race.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam