Piastri “wholly at fault” for Antonelli-Leclerc Turn 1 crash, stewards rule
Oscar Piastri made a costly error at the Brazilian Grand Prix restart, causing a three-car incident that ended Charles Leclerc‘s race and earned himself a penalty.
The drama unfolded on lap 6 after the track went green following earlier incidents involving Gabriel Bortoleto, Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto.
Championship leader Lando Norris timed the restart perfectly, while rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli was caught napping behind him.
This hesitation created an opportunity that both Leclerc and Piastri immediately pounced on.
With Leclerc taking the high line and Piastri diving for the inside, Antonelli found himself squeezed in the middle heading into Turn 1 – a tricky position for any driver, let alone a rookie.
Piastri, perhaps feeling the pressure of a championship that once seemed certain but is now slipping away to his teammate Norris, went for a bold move.
The Australian lunged up the inside of Antonelli in what Leclerc later called an “optimistic” move.
Antonelli had checked his mirrors twice – once for Piastri and once for Leclerc – before focusing on the apex. The young Italian clearly hadn’t expected a McLaren to appear on his inside.
But was it just a rookie misjudgment? Not according to the stewards.
Footage from Piastri’s onboard camera shows Antonelli had actually managed to get nearly half his Mercedes ahead at the apex. The stewards pointed to this fact when explaining Piastri’s penalty, noting he hadn’t met the requirements in the drivers’ guidelines to put his car there.
This raises an interesting question: Was Antonelli smartly racing according to the rulebook while Piastri was simply going for position?
If so, it shows the 19-year-old Italian’s racing intelligence and highlights Piastri’s miscalculation – suggesting the current racing guidelines might still need some fine-tuning.
Maybe the “first at the apex” rule needs tweaking. Wouldn’t it make more sense that when a driver is alongside at the braking point, they’re entitled to racing room throughout the corner?
When drivers are fighting to be first to the apex rather than for position, the guidelines might be interfering with racing instead of governing it.
The incident ultimately cost Leclerc valuable points in his championship battle, while further complicating Piastri’s relationship with the stewards this season.
