Sao Paulo Grand Prix Report: Leclerc Critiques Incident with Piastri and Antonelli
In a contentious moment during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc highlighted the shared responsibility in the collision that removed him from contention. The incident occurred as Oscar Piastri attempted an overtaking maneuver on Kimi Antonelli at Turn 1 following a safety car restart, resulting in contact that ultimately sidelined Leclerc.
Leclerc was positioned on the outside as the trio vied for second place when Piastri and Antonelli collided entering the corner. Race stewards deemed Piastri “wholly responsible” for the clash and imposed a 10-second time penalty on the Australian driver.
Reflecting on the incident, Leclerc stated, “I watched it from afar… It’s a shame. Collateral damage of an incident between Oscar and Kimi, where in my opinion actually Kimi was as much to blame as Oscar… Very frustrating considering we are fighting for the second place in the constructors’ championship and we are the only ones that are not finishing the race.”
With Leclerc’s early exit, Ferrari has fallen to fourth in the constructors’ standings, now trailing Mercedes by 36 points. Lewis Hamilton also retired from the race due to crash damage sustained in two separate incidents.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur expressed his disappointment: “It’s a tough weekend. I had the feeling that with Charles we were in a good place. We are paying the full price of the crash between Antonelli and Piastri… When you are giving up points, you are giving points also to the others. It’s the double penalty and in our case it’s very harsh.”
As the season progresses, the implications of these incidents could severely impact Ferrari’s championship aspirations.
