Why Oscar Piastri was penalised at Sao Paulo Grand Prix
10th November 2025The FIA Stewards have confirmed why they gave McLaren’s championship contender, Oscar Piastri, a time penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after he hit Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
Feature image credit: McLaren Racing
In his chase to regain the championship lead, Piastri had a hard-hitting race weekend in Brazil. He scored no points in the Sprint, having crashed at turn three, and only managed to best a fifth-place finish during the Grand Prix.
His crash with Antonelli in the main Grand Prix did not help his current situation.
When the race resumed on lap six, after a safety car break that allowed marshals to extract Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto’s car, Piastri made a lunge on the Italian into the first corner.
Hindered by a lock-up into the opening corner, Piastri hit the side of Antonelli, which forced him into the path of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who then retired due to suspension damage quickly after. Piastri was able to continue, benefitting from the contact, up in second place.
Upon review of the incident, the stewards deemed Piastri was ‘wholly responsible’ for the contact and slapped him with a 10-second time penalty, and two penalty points on his superlicence.
The stewards found that Piastri did not establish the required overlap, his front axle to Antonelli’s mirror, before or at the apex of turn one, as prescribed in the Driving Standard Guidelines.
In the steward’s report, they said:
“The Stewards reviewed video and in-car video evidence.
“At the Safety Car restart on Lap 6, Car 81 (Oscar Piastri) attempted to overtake Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) on the inside of Turn 1. In doing so, PIA did not establish the required overlap prior to and at the apex, as his front axle was not alongside the mirror of Car 12, as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner.
“PIA locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable to do so and made contact with ANT. This contact caused ANT to make secondary contact with Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), who was positioned on the outside and was forced to retire from the race as a result.
“PIA was therefore wholly responsible for the collision. A 10-second time penalty and 2 penalty points are considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents.”
Following the conclusion of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, it now means that Piastri trails his teammate and the current championship leader, Lando Norris, by 24 points, one point away from a race win haul of points, with three races remaining of the season.
Additionally, Piastri is increasingly at risk of losing second place in the drivers’ championship as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen trails the Australian by 25 points.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Mechanic to blame for Yuki Tsunoda’s failed penalty at Sao Paulo Grand Prix
- Ferrari suffer double DNF at Sao Paulo Grand Prix after collisions
- Max Verstappen to start from pit lane at Sao Paulo Grand Prix
- Lando Norris takes pole for Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Max Verstappen exits Q1
- Lando Norris wins Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint as Oscar Piastri crashes
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
