F1 | Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto were investigated after FP2 incidents – Italian GP
Italian Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto came under investigation after FP2: the verdicts and potential penalties have been revealed. Oscar Piastri received a simple official warning following a stewards’ investigation into an alleged irregularity during FP2 at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The Australian had exited the pit lane with his McLaren before the official restart time of the session, which had been suspended due to Kimi Antonelli’s off-track incident.
According to the collected data, Piastri’s car entered the pit lane at 17:13:50, a full 19 seconds before the race direction officially confirmed the restart time. This was a clear violation of the event notes (Article 22.2), which prohibit drivers from entering the fast lane before the official communication.
McLaren admitted the mistake, explaining that they had relied on the “track clear” message rather than the official restart notice. However, the stewards emphasized that, unlike similar incidents in qualifying – such as the one that led to a grid penalty for Franco Colapinto at Imola – in this case there was no concrete sporting advantage, since it occurred during a free practice session. Therefore, the decision was limited to an official warning.
Bortoleto case
Gabriel Bortoleto was also investigated during the same session, accused of overtaking Liam Lawson under yellow flags. The analysis revealed that Lawson’s Racing Bulls car “partially obstructed the view of the signal,” preventing the Brazilian driver from reacting in time.
Additionally, GPS data showed that Bortoleto had visibly slowed down after the first yellow flag and navigated the point of Antonelli’s incident at reduced speed. For this reason, the stewards decided not to take any further action.
These two incidents once again highlight just how fine the stewards’ judgments can be between issuing a simple warning and imposing a full penalty.
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