Andrea Stella believes that the collision between Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in Spa must serve as a warning. The McLaren boss fears that a similar incident could cause a much more serious accident.
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While the stewards decided not to sanction either Charles Leclerc or Oscar Piastri after their contact at the Belgian Grand Prix, Andrea Stella believes the matter deserves further consideration.
The McLaren director believes that this type of situation could, in the future, have much more serious consequences.
A costly collision for Piastri
The incident occurred on the eighth lap on the Kemmel straight.
While attempting to overtake Charles Leclerc from the outside before the braking zone of Les Combes, Oscar Piastri saw the Ferrari drift slightly to the left, causing contact between the two single-seaters.
The McLaren sustained damage to its floor, resulting in an estimated loss of two to three tenths of a second per lap.
Piastri ultimately finished fifth, nearly 19 seconds behind winner Kimi Antonelli, while Leclerc secured second place.
McLaren questions the stewards’ decision
Andrea Stella now wants to understand the criteria used by the stewards to conclude it was a mere racing incident.
“I will have to examine the elements considered by the stewards, particularly to know if the determining factor is the relative position of Oscar’s front axle compared to the Ferrari.”
According to him, when a battle lasts so long side-by-side, certain precautions must be taken.
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“When two cars remain side-by-side for such a long period, I think the driver who is not on the ideal line because he is defending the inside must leave enough space.”
“The next accident could be very serious”
Beyond the Spa incident, Stella believes that Formula 1 must learn lessons from this type of incident.
“If contact is not controlled, the accident can be very significant.”
The McLaren boss, however, prefers to wait until he has studied the stewards’ decision in detail before going further.
“There are probably lessons to be learned from this situation. But before commenting further, I need to read the decision and analyze the file precisely.”
In their verdict, the stewards explained that, even if Piastri’s McLaren showed a slight overlap with the Ferrari, its front axle was not sufficiently advanced to consider an overtake to be underway.
They also considered that Leclerc had simply followed the normal trajectory by moving slightly to the left before the Les Combes corner, without deliberately trying to push his rival off the track.
While no sanction was ultimately pronounced, McLaren hopes that this episode will fuel reflection on the rules governing wheel-to-wheel duels to prevent a similar situation from one day leading to a much more spectacular accident.
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