Oscar Piastri lifts lid on ‘pretty close call’ after official FIA warning

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri says the FIA should consider changes to the F1 2026 rules on safety grounds following Oliver Bearman’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.

It comes after the Australian had “a pretty close call” of his own at Suzuka having been hit with a warning for an incident with Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg in FP3.

Oscar Piastri explains ‘pretty close call’ after FIA warning

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Bearman was seen limping away from the wreckage of his Haas in Japan after crashing at Spoon Curve, having taken to the grass and lost control while closing in rapidly on Franco Colapinto’s Alpine.

In a statement issued after the race, the FIA acknowledged that the significantly increased closing speeds of the F1 2026 cars – which see some deploying energy while others are harvesting – was a contributing factor in Bearman’s accident.

F1’s governing body went on to confirm that “a number of meetings” are scheduled to take place this month with a view to refining the new rules.

Analysis: Japanese Grand Prix

Japanese GP conclusions: Dodgeball on wheels, Verstappen’s rampage, Russell’s Norris test

Kimi Antonelli leads winners and losers as Japanese Grand Prix shifts momentum

Piastri, who finished second in Japan, also found himself caught out by the significant closing speeds in final practice.

The McLaren driver was given an official warning by the FIA having been found to have impeded Hulkenberg while weaving across the circuit on the approach to 130R.

Piastri has admitted that Hulkenberg’s Audi caught him “three times” quicker than he expected on the straight.

And he believes the FIA should act “pretty quickly” to ensure a repeat of Bearman’s accident at Suzuka does not happen.

Asked how crucial it is that changes are made ahead of the next race in Miami, Piastri said: “We’ve spoken about that [a Bearman-type accident] being a possibility since these cars were conceptualised.

“It’s what we’re stuck with, with the power units. There’s no easy way of getting around it.

“From what I saw there was no flashing light from Colapinto, so I don’t even think he was super clipping either, which is obviously a bit of a concern.

“I had a pretty close call in free practice with Nico because he caught me about three times as quick as I expected on the straight and we were both at full throttle.

“So I think there’s clearly an element of learning for us as drivers and, where the accident happened, it’s not a place where you expect someone to come from so far behind and have such a big speed difference.

“And whilst we’re learning that, unfortunately things like this are probably going to happen, which is a shame.

“But I think we understand as a sport there’s a lot of things we need to tweak, a lot of things we need to change.

“And especially on safety grounds, yes, there’s some things that need to be looked into pretty quickly.”

Piastri’s comments come after Red Bull driver and four-time world champion Max Verstappen claimed incidents like Bearman’s are inevitable with the current cars.

Verstappen said: “It’s what you get with these things.

“One guy is completely stuck with no power, basically, and then the other one uses the mushroom mode.

“It can be 50-60 kilometres difference. Really big.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: ‘Pretty terrible’ – The Max Verstappen F1 2026 warning that went ignored