“Apparently that’s fine now” – Oscar Piastri takes swipe at stewards over Liam Lawson contact. Oscar Piastri reacts to his Turn 1 clash with Liam Lawson in Las Vegas.

The New Zealander from Racing Bulls admitted his responsibility in the Turn 1 contact, apologizing to the McLaren driver.

A Sunday to forget

The double disqualification of both McLaren cars at the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix understandably overshadowed another incident that significantly influenced Oscar Piastri’s race. The reference is to the collision at the start with Liam Lawson, which completely ruined the race for the Racing Bulls driver. Piastri was, naturally, under close scrutiny after the controversy surrounding the three-car crash in Interlagos involving himself, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. The McLaren driver had been handed a 10-second penalty for that incident, but he also received support from several colleagues – including Carlos Sainz and Leclerc – who publicly stated that they did not consider Oscar Piastri to be the main or sole culprit in that collision.

No action taken

Given that recent precedent and the fact that no investigation or penalty was issued for the contact between him and Liam Lawson, Oscar Piastri was clearly left somewhat frustrated, especially because Lawson openly accepted responsibility for the clash at the start. Car #30 apologized to Oscar Piastri, stating, “The track was very slippery and I was about to run into everyone in front of me,” Lawson admitted when speaking to journalists after the race. “So basically I just tried to avoid that. I apologize to the team and also to Oscar, I did not want to hit him. I haven’t rewatched the incident, I only know that I had contact, so I’m sorry to Oscar and my team, because I wasn’t trying to overtake or anything like that. Obviously, looking back, I would have just braked a bit earlier and tried to make it safely through Turn 1.”

Piastri irritated

Oscar Piastri accepted Liam Lawson’s apology, but he also described the move as “ambitious,” hinting that he intends to clarify with the stewards next weekend which maneuvers are considered acceptable and which are not, especially after the Brazilian GP discussions. “I don’t think I had any damage to the car,” the Australian commented after the race. “From what I could feel, it seemed like a wheel-to-wheel contact. Honestly, I was quite impressed that I still had all four wheels, but I don’t think there was any damage after the incident. Lawson’s move? Ambitious, that’s for sure, but apparently it’s okay,” Oscar Piastri concluded, “so obviously I think we’ll talk about it next week during our briefing.” – he pointed out.

With the title fight still raging and every point crucial, the last thing McLaren needed was another controversial moment.