Oscar Piastri received a three-place penalty after qualifying at Monza. The Australian drops back on the grid, benefiting Ferrari and Verstappen.
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Oscar Piastri will ultimately not start from third place at the Italian Grand Prix. A few hours after qualifying at Monza, the stewards handed a three-place penalty to the McLaren driver for impeding Liam Lawson during Q2.
The Australian had set the third fastest time in the session behind the surprising pole sitter Pierre Gasly and George Russell. He was therefore supposed to start on the second row on Sunday, but his penalty now drops him three positions.
This decision directly benefits Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen, who each gain a place on the grid.
Piastri impedes Lawson in Q2
The incident occurred during the second part of qualifying. Piastri was leaving the pit lane when Verstappen and Lawson were approaching behind him on flying laps.
McLaren had warned their driver of their presence. According to the stewards’ report, the team told him on the radio: “Verstappen, Lawson, and Sainz are coming. Sainz has returned to the pits. Only Verstappen and Lawson remain, be careful of them when you join the track.”
The problem is that Piastri was not explicitly informed that the two Red Bull drivers were on flying laps.
It was only when approaching the first corner that the Australian realized Verstappen was coming at full speed. He then slowed down sharply and moved to the right to let the Dutchman pass.
But Lawson was following very closely.
“He could do nothing”
Once Verstappen had passed, Piastri found himself in a particularly tricky position. Lawson arrived immediately behind and could not avoid losing time.
The New Zealander felt after the session that his lap was seriously compromised by the incident. A situation all the more frustrating as he then failed to reach Q3.
Piastri was summoned by the stewards after qualifying to give his version of events.
They acknowledged that the McLaren driver had very few options once he reached the entrance of the first corner.
“The stewards accept that with the information he had and considering the situation he was placed in, the driver of car 81 had, at this stage, no other option available,” their decision states.
However, this was not enough to avoid a penalty.
An unintentional but penalized impediment
The stewards considered that Piastri nevertheless unnecessarily impeded Lawson, even though the incident was obviously not intentional.
“He therefore unintentionally, but also unnecessarily, impeded car 30,” they specify.
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The regulations provide a standard penalty in this type of situation, and the stewards chose to apply it.
“Therefore, the standard penalty of a three-place grid drop is imposed.”
Piastri thus loses the benefit of his third place obtained during qualifying and will now have to start three positions further back.
Leclerc, Hamilton, and Verstappen benefit
This penalty directly changes the order of the front rows behind Gasly and Russell.
Charles Leclerc gains a position, as does his teammate Lewis Hamilton. For Ferrari, this decision is excellent news just hours before their home Grand Prix, especially after qualifying where the Scuderia had not fully exploited its potential.
Verstappen also benefits from the penalty given to Piastri and moves up one place.
For the Australian, the contrast is significant. After being one of the main contenders for pole in Q3, he now sees several of his direct rivals gain an advantage even before the race starts.
McLaren pays for imperfect communication
The stewards’ decision also highlights the role played by McLaren’s communication in the incident.
Piastri was indeed warned of Verstappen and Lawson’s arrival, but not that they were on flying laps. When he understood the situation, he was already almost at the first corner and had no real solution to let both Red Bulls pass without impeding one of them.
The stewards explicitly acknowledge this circumstance, while considering that it does not justify canceling the infraction.
An important nuance: Piastri is not accused of deliberately blocking Lawson, but the sporting result remains the same.
A penalty that could cost dearly on Sunday
On a circuit like Monza, where gaps are particularly small and slipstreaming plays a major role, three positions can profoundly change the start of the race.
Piastri will now have to deal with more traffic and try to overtake several competitors before being able to regain the front positions. A situation far from ideal for McLaren, who hoped to continue their momentum after Lando Norris’s wins in Hungary and the Netherlands.
A few hours after failing in the fight for pole, Oscar Piastri therefore suffers a second hard blow at Monza. His impediment of Lawson costs him three places on the grid and offers, even before the start, a valuable advantage to Leclerc, Hamilton, and Verstappen.
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