Oscar Piastri will not have to serve a Formula 1 grid penalty at the next round despite failing to serve any punishment handed by the stewards at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Australian was handed a five-second time penalty for jumping the start, which led to a botched getaway that sent him tumbling to the foot of the order by Turn 1.
However, the penalty could not be served by the McLaren driver, as he shunted the wall at Turn 5 on the same lap, leading to his first DNF in nearly two years.
The shunt put Piastri at risk of losing a significant chunk of his 31 point lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
But Lando Norris’ seventh place finish means his team-mate’s advantage has only been cut to just 25 points.
As per a previous agreement between F1 teams, the rules were changed to ensure that five-second penalties could not be converted into grid penalties, unless there was multiple five-second penalties incurred to aggregate the time a driver must serve.
The F1 penalty guidelines states that: “In cases where there is a single five-second penalty which a driver is unable to serve due to retirement, the Stewards will not convert that into a grid penalty for a subsequent race.
“However, if there is more than one penalty, the Stewards may convert the 5s [and other] penalties into a grid penalty.”
This means that Piastri has been handed a fairly significant leeway, given the next round of the championship is in Singapore, a tight street circuit where qualifying is important to ensure a good grid place.
McLaren’s disappointing Baku adventure means that the team has yet to sew-up the Constuctors’ Championship, but with Norris winning in Singapore last year, the formbook suggests the Woking-based squad will not have to wait long.
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri admits first lap F1 Azerbaijan GP shunt ‘not my finest moment’
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