Piastri handed extra licence points after Antonelli clash as stewards call him ‘wholly responsible’
Oscar Piastri’s Sunday in São Paulo ended with more than a sore set of tyres. After a 10‑second time penalty for tagging Kimi Antonelli at the Turn 1 restart, the McLaren driver has also been hit with two penalty points on his licence, taking his rolling 12‑month total to eight.
The flashpoint came on Lap 6 at Interlagos, when the early Safety Car peeled in and the front pack barrelled down to the Senna S. Antonelli, holding the middle of the road in his Mercedes, was squeezed between Charles Leclerc around the outside and Piastri diving for the apex. Piastri pinched the front-left and locked up, slid into Antonelli, and the ricochet sent Antonelli into Leclerc. The Ferrari was out on the spot.
Stewards investigated at the time and handed Piastri a 10‑second penalty, served at his first stop. Post‑race, the written decision landed with the sting in the tail: two licence points, along with a clear verdict on fault.
“At the Safety Car restart on Lap 6, Car 81 (Oscar Piastri) attempted to overtake Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) on the inside of Turn 1,” the stewards noted. “Piastri did not establish the required overlap prior to and at the apex, as his front axle was not alongside the mirror of Car 12, as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner. Piastri locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable to do so and made contact with Antonelli. This contact caused Antonelli to make secondary contact with Car 16 (Charles Leclerc)… Piastri was therefore wholly responsible for the collision.”
The FIA’s driving standards memo for 2025 is explicit about inside moves: if you want the corner, your front axle must be at least alongside the rival’s mirror prior to and at the apex, and the pass must be executed “in a fully controlled manner” rather than a late lunge. By that yardstick, Piastri’s overlap simply wasn’t there.
The baseline tariff for causing a collision is a 10‑second time penalty, which he got. Guidelines also suggest three licence points in such cases, but the stewards settled on two. It won’t ease the sting in Maranello — Leclerc’s afternoon ended before it began — but it’s a notable call all the same for a title-chasing McLaren outfit that’s walking a thinner line on the disciplinary front now.
On track, the incident briefly thrust Piastri up to second behind team-mate Lando Norris, only for the sanction to drop him to seventh once served. He cycled forward again during the stops and ultimately finished fifth, trailing George Russell to the flag after the second round of pit calls shook out.
For Antonelli, who had been well placed at the restart, it was a bruising exchange in a crowded, high-commitment corner that rarely forgives misjudgment. For Piastri, it’s a reminder of how fine the margins are when the field fans out and everyone’s greedy for the apex at Interlagos.
The bigger picture? Eight penalty points is a number McLaren and Piastri will be very aware of as the season tightens. The team has been relentless in race execution this year, but moments like this — where the judgement call is measured against a black-and-white set of overtaking criteria — can tilt a Sunday and, potentially, a campaign.
There wasn’t much debate in race control about the overlap. The stewards’ language was unambiguous, and the guideline itself leaves little wriggle room: no established overlap by the apex on an inside move means you own the consequences. Piastri’s lock-up showed the intent to avoid contact, but the contact came anyway, and with it the bill — time lost, places given up, and fresh ink on the superlicence.
McLaren will regroup with plenty of speed still in hand — Norris was the more serene presence up front — while Mercedes and Ferrari will pore over the restart tapes and wonder what might have been. Interlagos doesn’t do half measures, and Turn 1 on a restart is racing’s equivalent of a yes-or-no question. On Sunday, the stewards’ answer was definitive.
