McLaren’s Oscar Piastri endured a frustrating outing at the São Paulo Grand Prix, where a 10-second time penalty early in the race derailed his hopes of a podium finish. Despite his strong start from fourth on the grid, the Australian had to settle for fifth place after a challenging afternoon at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
A promising start turns into a setback
Piastri began the race in a promising position, eyeing a podium finish to keep his championship aspirations alive. However, his afternoon took a difficult turn following an early incident during the Safety Car restart. Attempting a bold move for second place on Kimi Antonelli into Turn 1, the McLaren driver locked up under braking and made contact with the Mercedes, sending Antonelli into Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
The collision forced Leclerc out of the race, while both Piastri and Antonelli continued. But the stewards handed the 24-year-old a 10-second time penalty, significantly impacting his race strategy.
Reflecting on the incident, Oscar Piastri explained:
“I got a really good Safety Car restart and went to the inside. I put myself up the inside pretty comfortably and there was obviously a bit of a lock-up, but I couldn’t go any further left than I already was – I can’t really just disappear. Then after that, not sure we made the right calls either, so a tough afternoon.”
Recovery effort falls short
Despite serving his penalty during a pit stop on Lap 39 of 71, Piastri showed resilience as he fought to regain lost ground. A late-race push saw him chasing down Mercedes’ George Russell for fourth place, but he ultimately ran out of laps to complete the move. His recovery drive, while commendable, was not enough to offset the early penalty’s damage.
Meanwhile, his teammate Lando Norris enjoyed a flawless weekend, claiming victory in both the sprint and main race to extend his championship lead over Oscar Piastri to 24 points.
Oscar Piastri’s focus shifts beyond the championship
With just three races remaining in the season, the Australian acknowledged that his focus now lies in addressing performance issues rather than chasing standings. Summing up his weekend, Piastri stated:
“I think in terms of the championship there’s no point thinking about it very much. There’s clearly some things we need to sort out. Just a tough weekend from a number of fronts, so I’ll focus on that instead.”
As the F1 calendar heads into the final triple-header across Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, Oscar Piastri will be eager to bounce back and reclaim lost momentum in his battle with Norris and Verstappen.