Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has been penalised five seconds for his clash with Oscar Piastri in Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix, dropping him to fifth behind Sergio Perez.
The Ferrari and the McLaren driver were engaged in a long fight for position, with Sainz incensed when Piastri shoved him wide at Turn 11 and retained the place.
But while the pair avoided contact at that moment, Sainz went too deep into Turn 17 on Lap 39 and collided with Piastri, who inherited damage from the incident.
Piastri had to pit to get repairs and trailed home outside the points in 13th as his team-mate won, while Sainz continued and saw the chequered flag in fourth place.
After hearing from both drivers, team representatives and also reviewing video evidence, the Miami GP stewards were “clear” that Sainz was to blame for the clash.
Sainz was handed a five-second time drop to be added to his race time, dropping him one place in the classification to fifth, and a single penalty point on his license.
“It was clear to us that Car 55 was to blame for the collision. In the overtake attempt, Car 55 braked late, missed the apex, and in the process lost the rear, with the resulting collision. Although Car 81 was trying to turn in to counter the overtaking attempt, Car 81 gave sufficient room to Car 55,” the Stewards stated.
“In the circumstances, we find Car 55 to be predominantly to blame for the collision. In this case, we took into account, as mitigating factors, the fact that but for the slight loss of control of the rear by Car 55, the collision would likely not have happened and it would have been hard but good racing.”
