The São Paulo Grand Prix stewards were left adamant that Oscar Piastri was "wholly responsible" for an incident that resulted in the retirement of Charles Leclerc.
Following a safety car period early in the race, at the restart on lap six, McLaren driver Piastri aimed for a gap created by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli on the approach to Turn 1 at Interlagos.
As Antonelli turned in, Piastri locked up his brakes and collided with the 19-year-old Italian. The knock-on effect saw Antonelli hit Leclerc, leading to terminal damage for the Ferrari driver.
Piastri was handed a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, which he served at a later pit stop, the result of which led to him finishing fifth at the chequered flag behind race-winning team-mate Lando Norris to fall 24 points adrift in the fight for the drivers' title.
Explaining their decision behind what was seemingly a contentious penalty given the circumstances, a stewards' document read: "At the safety car restart on lap six, car 81 (Piastri) attempted to overtake car 12 (Antonelli) on the inside of Turn 1.
"In doing so, Piastri did not establish the required overlap, prior to, and at the apex, as his front axle was not alongside the mirror of car 12, as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner.
"Piastri locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable to do so and made contact with Antonelli.
"This contact caused Antonelli to make secondary contact with car 16 (Leclerc), who was positioned on the outside and was
forced to retire from the race as a result.
"Piastri was therefore wholly responsible for the collision. A 10-second time penalty and two penalty points are considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents."
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