Photo: Race Pictures

Stewards reveal why Piastri was handed a 10s penalty at the Brazil GP

11:31, 10 Nov

byKada Sarkozi

The stewards have shared their explanation for why Oscar Piastri received a 10-second time penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Lando Norris did well to bunch up his rivals behind him after the Safety Car restart. While the championship leader got away cleanly and kept his lead, Piastri, Kimi Antonelli, and Charles Leclerc went three-wide into the first corner on Lap 6.

Piastri made contact with the rookie, who as a result was punted into Leclerc's Ferrari. The Monegasque driver then had to retire from the race.

Along with a 10-second time penalty for the incident, the Australian driver was handed two further penalty points, bringing his total up to eight.

The Turn 1 incident after the Safety Car restart - Photo: Race Pictures

While Leclerc thought 'Antonelli was as much to blame as Piastri,' the stewards argue otherwise.

In their report, they explain: "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, Piastri 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.

"Piastri locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable todo so and made contact with Antonelli.

"This contact caused Antonelli 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.

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"Piastri was therefore wholly responsible for the collision. A 10-second time penalty and 2 penalty points are considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents."

After serving his penalty during his pit stop, Piastri finished fifth in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Piastri loses ground in the championship battle

The Australian driver has been without a podium finish since the Italian Grand Prix in September, and after collecting only 10 points at Interlagos, he now trails his teammate Lando Norris by 24 points. Max Verstappen is a further 25 points behind.

Position	Drivers	Points
P1	Lando Norris	390
P2	Oscar Piastri	366
P3	Max Verstappen	341

The season continues in two weeks' time with the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

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