Oscar Piastri argued that the penalties he and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris received at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix highlighted the stewards’ inconsistencies.
Norris was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen through the exit of Turn 12 on Lap 52 of the Grand Prix, which eventually cost him a spot on the podium and three points in the championship fight.
Piastri meanwhile, was handed a five-second penalty during Saturday’s Sprint for forcing Alpine’s Pierre Gasly wide and off track at Turn 12.
The Australian questioned the stewards’ decision-making through both instances, which he felt had similar causes but “opposite” outcomes.
“I mean, I think if you look at my penalty from the sprint, it was basically a carbon copy of Max and Lando, but I stayed on the track and I got the penalty,” said Piastri.
“It’s not very clear. I feel like as drivers, we also all kind of have different interpretations of what we think is fair and what’s not, especially when it comes to being on the outside of another driver.
“But you know, the difference of 10 centimetres or 20 centimetres shouldn’t be the difference of you having the right to space or not having the right to space.
“And obviously, for stewards who have generally not driven a car very much, it’s very tough to judge that in the moment especially.
“So, yeah, I think my incident yesterday and Lando and Max’s today looked very similar with the opposite penalties. So I’m sure we’ll have some questions.”
Piastri: It’s ‘difficult’ to penalise one car when both go off-track
Verstappen and Norris had two instances where the former, holding the inside line took both cars to the run-off.
The first came on Lap 1 at the first corner, with no punishments handed out, which Mclaren Team Principal Andrea Stella was willing to accept under opening lap circumstances.
The second incident saw Verstappen lead at the apex of Turn 12, which is why the stewards favoured him despite both the Dutchman and Norris going off track in the Lap 52 scuffle.
Piastri, however, reasoned that it’s “difficult” to penalise one driver when both cars go off track.
“I’ve seen it briefly,” the Australian said of the Lap 52 incident.
“I mean, it’s not really that much for me to comment on.
“The only thing I would say is both cars went off the track, so I feel like it’s a bit difficult to give a penalty for both guys going off the track.
“I don’t know what happened at Turn 1 either. It looked pretty dicey.”
Verstappen, meanwhile, was clear that his driving was a correct interpretation of the rules and threw a barb at McLaren in the post-race United States GP press conference.
“They complain about a lot lately anyway, but it’s very clear in the rules,” the Red Bull driver said. “Outside the white line, you cannot pass. I’ve been done for it as well in the past.”
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