3 months ago
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Oscar Piastri’s Formula 1 championship hopes are on life support after teammate Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix to edge 24 points ahead in the championship race.
Piastri was already playing catch-up with his teammate after starting fourth on the grid, but his chances of a race win were dealt further damage after he was given a 10-second time penalty for making contact with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli on lap six as they fought for second position.
Australian driver Oscar Piastri.Credit: Getty Images
The contact from Piastri had a knock-on effect and subsequently ended Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s race as Antonelli ran into Leclerc’s car, sending him off the tracks.
With Red Bull driver Max Verstappen executing a phenomenal drive to finish ahead of Piastri in third, after starting the race from the pit lane, the pressure is on Piastri to outperform Verstappen and Norris in the final three races if he wants to keep his championship fight alive.
Speaking after the race, Piastri said he thought the crash was a racing incident, and he had nowhere else to go.
“I had a very clear opportunity [for the overtake], I went for it, the other two on the outside braked quite late,” Piastri said on Sky Sports.
“There was obviously a bit of lock-up into the corner, but that was because I could see Kimi was not going to give me any space and I can’t disappear, but the decision is what it is.”
Charles Leclerc crashes out of the Brazilian Grand Prix.Credit: Getty Images
Now, Piastri must out-score his teammate and keep Verstappen – who is 25 points behind in the championship - at bay as the season comes to a head.
“Just try and get the most out of it 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,” Piastri said of the title race.
“The second half of the race potentially was not too bad, but the first stint was a little bit tough. Just trying to get back on top of things with that, and just try and have the best weekends we can.”
The next Grand Prix is in Las Vegas in two weeks’ time.
Race stewards, in a statement, declared Piastri “wholly responsible” and also gave him two penalty points on his licence, but Leclerc said the incident was completely Piastri’s fault.
“Oscar was optimistic but Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside, I think, and he kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there,” Leclerc said on Sky Sports.
“For me the blame is not all on Oscar. Yes, it was optimistic, but this could have been avoided. I’m frustrated. At the end of the day I’m not angry with Oscar or Kimi, these things happen, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying that it’s all Oscar’s fault. I don’t think it is.”
Mercedes’ Antonelli hung on for a career-best second place, while teammate George Russell finished in fourth.
With Reuters
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