Oscar Piastri hit with penalty for causing Turn 1 chaos at Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Did Oscar Piastri deserve a penalty for his aggressive Turn 1 overtake in Brazil?
Oscar Piastri has been penalised for causing a collision with Kimi Antonelli in the early stages of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Piastri attempted an aggressive overtake on the Mercedes driver following the Safety Car restart at Interlagos.
The Australian nailed the restart after the first Safety Car stoppage, which was caused by Gabriel Bortoleto’s stricken Sauber.
Piastri lunged up the inside of Antonelli into Turn 1, with Charles Leclerc on the outside of both drivers.
While Piastri was alongside the pair, he locked up and, with little room available, made contact with Antonelli.
The contact forced Antonelli into Leclerc, ending the Ferrari driver’s race.
Leclerc’s suspension was damaged and his front-left tyre came off, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
Piastri’s title hopes are now in tatters, with teammate Lando Norris dominating the race in Brazil from pole position.
Piastri will have to serve his 10-second time penalty when he comes in for his first pit stop, dropping him down the order.
Giving his view on the incident, Sky F1's Martin Brundle said: "That's the standard penalty. There were no mitigating circumstances, so I'm not surprised. He now needs to build a 10s gap over Antonelli.
"He had to have a go, there's no doubt about that, but the penalty is a fair cop."
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