Ex-F1 Racer Blasts Stewards Over “Too Rigid” Oscar Piastri Penalty at Brazil GP

Ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believed that Oscar Piastri's ten-second penalty at the Brazil GP was too harsh and unwarranted.

Ex-F1 Racer Blasts Stewards Over “Too Rigid” Oscar Piastri Penalty at Brazil GP

Oscar Piastri (via F1)

Oscar Piastri was one of the few drivers who put forth a massively underwhelming show at the Brazil GP. The Aussie was expected to close down on the championship title gap to Lando Norris at Interlagos. However, a P4 start for the race, followed by an in-race penalty, caused him to lose positions significantly and only finish in P5 at the end. Now, ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer labels the penalty a bit too rigid for the 24-year-old.

At the Brazil GP, Oscar Piastri was running behind the leading pack during the race start. However, an early race safety car caused the grid to bunch up at the forefront. During the restart, Piastri committed to an ambitious move into Turn 1 and collided with Kimi Antonelli.

This caused a chain reaction of crashes as Charles Leclerc was picked up in the crash and suffered from a DNF. Though he did not blame the Aussie fully for the crash at Interlagos, with the latter refusing any blame anyway.

Jolyon Palmer spoke candidly on Oscar Piastri’s penalty and whether it was warranted or not. As a former driver, Palmer firmly believed that Piastri’s ten-second penalty was a case of the racing guidelines being followed too rigidly. The stewards left no room for errors in the racing action and penalized the Aussie without any back and forth.

Palmer reckoned that he wanted to witness drivers battling it out on the track and not simply giving up the position because of the rivals behind ahead on the apex. The Briton believed that close wheel-to-wheel racing was the true essence of Formula 1, and Oscar Piastri needn’t be penalized so heavily for the accident that happened at the Brazil GP. However, McLaren did not contest the penalty during the race and accepted it.

In my opinion, and speaking as a former driver, it seems to be a case of the racing guidelines being followed too rigidly. I want to see drivers giving each other space and racing wheel-to-wheel through corners, not just dashing for an apex or chopping across others because they ‘own the corner’.

Jolyon Palmer said via Formula1.com.

Jolyon Palmer claims Oscar Piastri ‘tried to avoid the collision’ at Brazil GP

Certainly, Oscar Piastri did everything he could to avoid the accident in the heat of the moment. He even locked up his fronts and hence could only do so much from there on. Ultimately, he couldn’t stop in time and crashed into Kimi Antonelli, which granted him the penalty. Still, Jolyon Palmer clearly stated that the Aussie did try to avoid the collision, and it should have been considered when giving him the ten-second penalty.

Oscar Piastri (via F1)
Oscar Piastri (via F1)

Jolyon Palmer revealed that the drivers were committed to their position once they braked so heavily and tried to hold onto the spot. He continued that it would have been impossible for Oscar Piastri to brake harder and simply move out of harm’s way. The Aussie did the best he could and slammed the brakes hard, which ultimately caused the lock-up and the collision, which provided him with the massive penalty.

Once drivers hit the brakes, they are committed to their position. You can release the brakes to carry more speed but it’s pretty much impossible to just brake harder and jump out of the way. Any more brake inputs or steering inputs once drivers are committed to the corner will cause a front lock-up, and that’s exactly what happened to Oscar as he tried to avoid the collision.

Jolyon Palmer added.

Despite such racing accidents and their subsequent penalties causing some backlash towards the governing body, they do make strategies and races more exciting. Oscar Piastri gave it his all on the track and finished in P5 despite being hit with such a massive penalty. The Aussie now has to give it his all and ensure that he finishes ahead of his teammate if he wants to close in on the lead to the forefront.

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