Oscar Piastri has lost his points finish in Formula 1's Mexican Grand Prix after being given a 10-second time penalty for his collision with Arvid Lindblad. The McLaren and Racing Bulls drivers came together at the first corner when Piastri tried to take seventh from Lindblad, briefly launching the Racing Bulls into the air and into the barriers. Piastri brought his battered car home seventh, but the post-race penalty dropped him to 15th in the final results.
Both drivers were called to the stewards after the race. In their verdict, the stewards said Piastri's car was never fully alongside Lindblad's, so he was not able to claim the right to the corner. They added that through Turn 1, Lindblad defended his position by releasing the brakes but did not force Piastri off the track, allowing racing room on the outside, which he was not required to do. The stewards determined that the collision could have been avoided if Piastri had moved further to the left after Turn 1, even if that involved leaving the track prior to Turn 2.
Piastri had been adamant Lindblad was to blame. "I tried to go up the inside and then he shut the door very, very late, so I had to avoid him and end up on the outside," Piastri said. "So, I tried from there and obviously he pushed me pretty wide, and at that point I knew I wasn't going to complete the overtake, so I was trying to get out. But he pushed me so far wide, I couldn't go any further left and we interlocked wheels and that was the end result unfortunately." Lindblad did not want to comment on the incident in detail during his media commitments until he had seen the footage.
The penalty has a knock-on effect in the constructors' championship. Piastri's demotion means Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly now take a combined eight points for seventh and ninth, while Racing Bulls only gets four for Liam Lawson's eighth place. Racing Bulls is still 29 points clear in its battle with Alpine for fifth. The penalty also means Audi gets a point as Gabriel Bortoleto moves up to 10th.
Sources: The Race.