‘Very harsh’ Oscar Piastri penalty called out as Brundle challenges FIA claim

Oscar Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix for his role in an incident which also involved Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc, triggering Leclerc’s retirement from the race.

However, Martin Brundle, the former F1 driver turned commentator and analyst, believes that the FIA stewards were too heavy-handed with Piastri’s punishment. In Brundle’s opinion, five seconds was the most which should have been added to Piastri’s race time, while he also disagreed with the suggestion of the stewards that Piastri was wholly at fault.

Oscar Piastri Sao Paulo GP penalty: Harsh or fair?

Upon the race restart after an early Safety Car, Piastri in the McLaren, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc in the Ferrari, went three-wide into Turn 1, battling for second place.

Piastri was on the inside, took the kerb, locked-up, and tagged Antonelli into Leclerc. While Piastri and Antonelli drove on, Leclerc was out of the race, as his front-left tyre went rolling off down the hill.

The FIA stewards took a dim view of the incident. They decided that Piastri was “wholly responsible for the collision” and issued a 10-second time penalty. They also added two points to his FIA Super Licence, taking him up to six for the 12-month period. He finished the race fifth in a further hammer blow to his title chances.

Piastri chose his words carefully as he spoke to the media post-race, but did question where the stewards thought he could go, having been right up on the kerb with Antonelli in very close range on his right.

“No matter what way you look at that, I’m not sure where I’m supposed to go,” he said.

“When you have that good of a run into Turn 1, and you’re fully alongside, you’re not just going to back out. I think to try and go in any deeper than I did, would have been ambitious.

“I was where I was, so I think, in that scenario, if I was clearly understeering and missing the apex and then hit Kimi, then sure, I’d understand. But the fact that I was as far left as I could have gone, makes it tough.”

Brundle fully understands Piastri’s disapproval, as he highlighted a “clear mitigating circumstance” in the face of the FIA stewards fully blaming the Aussie.

“He had a tremendous run towards Turn 1 with a good chance to pass both Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc down the inside to seize an important second place,” Brundle wrote on Piastri in his Sky Sports column.

“He simply had to go for it, and I’m sure given the same opportunity 20 more times, he would do it every time.

“Antonelli had Leclerc to his right but with space, and he must have known Piastri was on his inside as he swept towards the apex. Piastri locked up and there was contact.

“Had his confidence have been higher he might have released the brakes and claimed the apex of the corner, and sorted it out from there, but he was driving into a wedge and instinctively braked.

“The problem for Oscar is that the initial optics didn’t look at all good in that he’d locked up, hit Antonelli’s rear axle with his front, skittled two cars including one into instant retirement, and gained two places.

“The stewards decided he was 100 per cent at fault, and dished out a 10-second penalty and two points on his licence, which leaves him with six of the permitted 12 before a race ban.

“That was very harsh.

More on the F1 2025 title fight via PlanetF1.com

👉 The moment it all finally made sense for Lando Norris

👉 Oscar Piastri Brazil penalty a microcosm of playing it safe in McLaren’s polite title fight

“There was a clear mitigating circumstance that he was squeezed by the Mercedes, and that this action contributed to his lock up and contact. It would have been easy to justify reducing that to a five-second penalty. As Oscar said, ‘I can’t just disappear’.

“Considering it as a typical racing incident would be marginal. No penalty at all, and therefore by default wholly blaming Antonelli, not realistic.”

Piastri’s McLaren teammate Lando Norris completed the Sprint and Grand Prix victory double at Interlagos, which saw him move 24 points clear of Piastri at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

Read next: ‘Sabotage’ and ‘cursed’, the Piastri burger deal that’s quietly been revised