Oscar Piastri was baffled that Charles Leclerc escaped a penalty after the pair made contact during the Belgian Grand Prix, believing the Ferrari driver at least deserved a black-and-white flag.
The stewards, however, ruled there was “no possibility” of Piastri completing the overtake, nor had Leclerc “deliberately” crowded him, leading them to take no further action.
Oscar Piastri questions FIA decision after Leclerc clash
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Piastri and Leclerc were battling for position on Lap 8 of the 44-lap Belgian Grand Prix when the McLaren driver attempted to pass around the outside of Les Combes.
Leclerc defended his position, and the two cars made contact.
Leclerc was able to continue without issue, but Piastri’s MCL40 suffered floor damage.
“He didn’t leave enough space, that could’ve been a massive crash,” Piastri complained over the team radio.
Race Control noted the incident but quickly ruled that no further action was necessary.
Piastri was left perplexed by the decision.
“I mean, from where I was sat, I was on the white line and got squeezed, and we were firstly very lucky not to have a bigger crash because we touched wheels at the start of the braking zone,” he told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media at Spa.
“I don’t really know where I was supposed to go.
“I was not saying that it needed to be a penalty necessarily, but at least a black-and-white flag, or something like that.
“Because if we think that is fine, it is one thing having touches like that, but even just the incentive of knowing that you can leave anyone the absolute bare minimum of space and get away with it, that’s not the nicest place to be.”
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FIA explain no further action rule in Leclerc/Piastri incident
The FIA stewards later explained the reasoning behind their decision.
The collision was investigated as an alleged breach of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2(d) of the FIA International Sporting Code.
However, after reviewing the available video footage and onboard cameras, the stewards concluded that no penalty was warranted.
“On the approach to Turn 5, Car 81 moved to overtake Car 16 on the outside,” the verdict read.
“Car 81 had some overlap on Car 16, but the front axle of Car 81 was not ahead of the front axle of Car 16 and there was no possibility of Car 81 completing an overtake from that position.
“In the Stewards’ determination, Car 16 did not deliberately crowd Car 81 off the edge of the track.
“Car 16 followed the racing line before the entry to Turn 5 by moving slightly to the left to open up for Turn 5, and side-to-side contact occurred between the two cars.
“In the circumstances, the Stewards determined to take no further action.”
Leclerc went on to finish the Grand Prix in second place, while Piastri came home fifth, 16 seconds behind the Ferrari driver.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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