Oscar Piastri defiant after Kimi Antonelli clash at Sao Paulo GP: “I can’t disappear”

Oscar Piastri has defended his aggressive Turn 1 overtake on Kimi Antonelli at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, saying he “can’t disappear”.

At the Safety Car restart, Piastri attempted to overtake Antonelli and Charles Leclerc at Turn 1.

The Australian locked up and collided with Antonelli, forcing the Mercedes driver into Leclerc.

Piastri moved into second, while Leclerc’s suspension was damaged due to the contact with Antonelli.

The stewards deemed Piastri to be at fault, handing him a 10-second time penalty.

The penalty meant that Piastri could only finish the race in fifth, losing 15 points to teammate Lando Norris in the title race.

When asked if he had any regrets about his Turn 1 lunge, Piastri said:

“No, I don’t think so. I had a very clear opportunity and went for it. The other two on the outside braked quite late.

There was a bit of a lock-up into the corner but that was because Kimi wasn’t going to give me any space. I can’t disappear but the decision is what it is.”

Piastri unhappy with early race pace

Even without the penalty, Piastri struggled to match his teammate’s pace in the opening stint.

Piastri ran around six seconds behind Norris before the British driver’s first pit stop.

The Australian has struggled to get close to Norris since the Dutch Grand Prix in August.

After his win at Zandvoort, Piastri led the championship standings by 34 points.

However, his crash in Baku has resulted in a podium-less run for Piastri, finishing fifth again in Sao Paulo.

Assessing his pace deficit to Norris, Piastri said: “Just try to get the most out of it that I can, I think.

“I think today, the penalty was one thing but I don’t think the pace was at a level that I wanted it to be. I think the second half of the race potentially wasn’t too bad but the first stint was a little bit tough.

“Just trying to get back on top of things with that and try to have the best weekends that we can.”