Photo: RacePictures.

Steiner raises key question following Piastri’s penalty in Brazil GP

18:31, 12 Nov

byTobia Elia

Guenther Steiner can’t understand why McLaren chose not to appeal the penalty Oscar Piastri received at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"Why you don't go there and at least say something to the stewards?"

- Guenther Steiner

Appearing on the Red Flags podcast, the former Haas team principal said he believes the British team should have at least tried, especially considering that Charles Leclerc himself placed some of the blame for the incident on Kimi Antonelli.

"Why you don't go there and at least say something to the stewards? Even Charles Leclerc said, 'it wasn't Oscar's fault. If the other driver, which was taken out, says, "Hey, nothing to do with him. Maybe I was a little bit too optimistic."'

"He didn't say that because he wouldn't admit to that one, but three wide and it's the first lap (after the SC restart). At some stage, with all these rules and interpretation and ten seconds instead of five and all that stuff, where does racing end?"

Photo: Race Pictures

He finally added: "We just line up and we get away. Everybody gets away like they started. Make sure that you don't even look at anybody because you get a penalty. But the fans don't like that."

Brundle accuses Stewards of overly harsh Piastri verdict

The penalty handed to the Australian could prove crucial in the title fight, which now sees Lando Norris holding almost a race’s advantage with three weekends remaining.

After serving the penalty, the Australian dropped from second to fifth at the finish, losing another eight valuable points.

Assessing the Turn 1 incident that saw a three-wide clash between Piastri, Antonelli, and Leclerc—with the latter bearing the brunt—Martin Brundle believes the penalty was actually excessive.

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