Charles Leclerc issues Oscar Piastri defence after race-ending clash

Charles Leclerc has denied Oscar Piastri holds all the blame following an incident that inflicted terminal damage to the Ferrari driver's car at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

During an early safety car restart, Piastri launched an attack into Turn 1 and was pinched to the inside of the corner with Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc on his outside.

Contact was made between Piastri and Antonelli, which pitched the latter into Leclerc, eliminating the Monegasque from the race.

Piastri was deemed at fault by the F1 stewards and handed a 10-second time penalty as well as two penalty points on his super licence.

Leclerc, however, does not believe the blame lies solely with Piastri.

“Oscar was optimistic, but Kimi knew that,” Leclerc told Sky F1.

“Kimi knew that Oscar was on the inside, I think. He kind of did the corner like Oscar was never there.

“The blame is not all on Oscar. Yes, it was optimistic, but this could have been avoided.”

Ferrari's day became even more painful when Lewis Hamilton retired from the race, cementing a zero-point race for the Italian squad.

It allowed Mercedes and Red Bull to leapfrog Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

Despite his early elimination, Leclerc asserted he is not upset with either Piastri or Antonelli for the collision.

“I’m frustrated,” he said. “At the end of the day, I'm not angry with Oscar or Kimi. These things happen.

“But I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's all Oscar's fault. I don't think it is.”