McLaren cop fine, Oscar Piastri escapes penalty for George Russell near-miss
McLaren fined for pitlane near-miss involving championship leader Oscar Piastri.
McLaren have been fined €5,000 (£4,300) for the near-miss involving Oscar Piastri and George Russell during second practice at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Piastri nearly collided with Mercedes’ Russell when he headed for the McLaren pit box, only to be instructed to drive to the other side so the team could push him back into the garage.
The Australian swerved back into the path of the oncoming Russell, who had to slam on the brakes to avoid rear-ending Piastri’s McLaren.
F1’s governing body announced the incident would be investigated after FP2 and summoned both drivers to see the stewards.
McLaren copped a fine but crucially, F1 championship leader Piastri did not receive a penalty.
Piastri was outpaced by McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris on Friday in Zandvoort, where Crash.net are on the ground.
Just nine points separate the McLaren drivers heading into the final 10 races of the 2025 season.
Stewards explain verdict
"The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), team representative and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence,” the stewards explained.
“Car 81 attempted to leave the fast lane and enter its pit box during a Red Flag period in Free Practice 2. As Car 81 approached the pit box, the entry was blocked by team personnel pushing a rear jack. Another team member signalled Car 81 to go around him to the next pit area which he did. In doing so, he turned back briefly within the fast lane and thereafter entered the pit box.
"All of this resulted in Car 63 having to brake heavily and take evasive action. No collision was caused, however, the situation could have resulted in one. It could also have resulted in injury to one or more team personnel in the pit lane.
“The team acknowledged that the driver was not warned and also recognised that they could have managed the situation better. We agreed that the team should have taken more care in managing the entry of Car 81 into the pit box.
“Although we issued the Summons based on Article 55.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, we felt that Article 12.2.1.h better reflected the infringement by the team in this instance.
“We therefore imposed a fine of €5,000 under that Article.”
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