McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella believes that Oscar Piastri’s penalty for a collision with Kimi Antonelli during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was “definitely on the harsh side”.
The Australian could only finish fifth in Sunday’s 71-lap race, having been forced to serve a 10-second penalty during his first pit stop after the stewards deemed him responsible for the collision with Antonelli.
Piastri had moved to the inside of Antonelli at Turn 1 immediately following a Safety Car restart, but the pair made contact, with the Mercedes driver sent into the side of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, who had tried to pass around the outside.
The resulting collision initially allowed Piastri to move up to second, behind team mate and eventual race winner Lando Norris, but with Leclerc forced to retire the penalty eventually dropped him back in the final result.
“In terms of the penalty, I would say that [it was] definitely on the harsh side,” said Stella.
“It’s true, we see a little lock-up, but at the same time, he’s able to maintain the trajectory, which is ultimately what counts.
“I think the responsibility should be shared with Kimi, because Kimi kind of knew that Oscar was on the inside and the collision probably could have been avoided.
“Perhaps Kimi was also worried of having Leclerc on the outside. A difficult situation, obviously, a difficult situation, but I think overall the penalty is harsh for Oscar to be considered fully to blame for this incident.
“At the same time, now it’s done. So, like I reiterate, the respect that we have for the stewards, we accept it, we move on.”
Piastri lost further ground to Norris in the title race and sits 24 points behind with just three Grands Prix and a Sprint remaining, having not stood on the podium for five races.
The 24-year-old has struggled for pace lately, especially compared to his form at the start of the season and in comparison with Norris more recently, but Stella was content with Piastri’s performance in Brazil.
“From a pace point of view, I think the pace was quite encouraging in the second and third stint,” added Stella.
“In the first stint, Oscar was carrying some damage on the tyre that was locked and he was also kind of thinking that the stint would have been long, but in the second and the third stint, I think the performance was good.
“Just talking right now with Oscar, some of the adaptations that we talked about in these low grip conditions, I think he was able to execute them during the race.
“So, I think we take away from this event encouraging indications from a performance point of view and race pace point of view.”
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