Oscar Piastri has been awarded a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson during qualifying for the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
Piastri put early qualifying struggles aside to put his McLaren third on the grid for Sunday’s race, but concern was raised in Q3 he could be in hot water with the stewards after an incident with Liam Lawson.
Lawson, starting his final Q2 run, had ventured onto the track before the rest of the field with Max Verstappen to ensure he had a tow on his lap, vital on Monza’s long straights,
But the New Zealander’s hopes were dashed as he approached Turn 1, entering the corner as Piastri joined the circuit, blocking Lawson’s line and forcing him to slow down, Lawson was eliminated at the chequered flag. The stewards noted the incident before opening an investigation.
Their decision was to penalise Piastri, stripping him of third place by imposing a three-place grid penalty. In their rationale, the stewards explained that Piastri stated he was not aware of Verstappen and Lawson’s push laps, so took no avoiding action.
Read full stewards decision below
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“On leaving the pits, the driver of Car 81 was advised that “Verstappen, Lawson and Sainz just crossing, Sainz has pitted, Just Verstappen and Lawson, watch out for them as you join”. The driver of Car 81 stated that he was not alerted to the fact that VER and LAW were on push laps but realised as he was almost at turn 1 that VER was on a push lap. He slowed significantly and kept to the right to allow VER to pass but was unable to do anything to avoid impeding LAW who was close behind.
“The Stewards accept that with the information he had, and the situation he was placed in, the driver of Car 81 had, at this stage, no other options available and hence, inadvertently, and also unnecessarily, impeded Car 30. Therefore the standard penalty of a drop of 3 grid positions is imposed.”
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