Oscar Piastri has chosen not to publicly criticize the 10-second penalty handed to him after his collision with Kimi Antonelli during the safety car restart at the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix. The Australian driver maintains that he did not understeer and that he kept his McLaren MCL39 on the correct racing line. From his perspective, the incident was simply a racing collision that did not warrant a penalty.
It was not a strong weekend for Oscar Piastri, who now finds himself 24 points behind teammate Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings, effectively falling out of contention for the championship. The Brazilian GP proved particularly challenging: he retired during the sprint race due to a crash, and the subsequent 10-second penalty from the race stewards assigned him responsibility for the collision involving Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc on lap 6 following the safety car period caused by Gabriel Bortoleto’s incident.
During the restart, Oscar Piastri capitalized on a less-than-perfect restart by Kimi Antonelli, attempting to take the inside line into the braking zone. This maneuver led to a lock-up after Antonelli closed the line. The front of the McLaren made contact with the rear of the Mercedes, sending Antonelli into a spin and colliding with the Ferrari of the unprotected Charles Leclerc.
“I had an overtaking opportunity on the inside and I went for it. Yes, I had a lock-up under braking, but I was firmly on the racing line, with one wheel on the white line. I couldn’t go further to the left, and I couldn’t just disappear,” Oscar Piastri said.
Oscar Piastri defended his role in the crash, noting that the stewards’ penalty was not for the lock-up itself—which is not against the rules—but because the Mercedes was still ahead at the apex of the corner. He accepted the decision and viewed it as part of a difficult weekend. “The decision made is what it is. It was one of many challenging moments today and across the weekend, but I admit I wouldn’t have done anything differently if I could go back.”
Without the 10-second penalty, Oscar Piastri would have finished second behind the unstoppable Lando Norris. Despite the setback, he remains calm and avoids controversy, maintaining his perspective on the matter. Some critics have attempted to assign blame to him for the braking lock-up.
“It doesn’t matter from which angle you view the incident: I don’t know where I was supposed to go. I hit the braking zone in turn 1 and was positioned on the outside: I couldn’t just back off. In that scenario, if I hadn’t hit the apex and gone into understeer, I would understand the decision, but since I was completely on the left, I don’t understand what fault I am being accused of,” Oscar Piastri explained.
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