F1 Las Vegas GP Live – Ferrari Reaction & Updates

ANTONELLI: “IS WRONG” PLATES

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli has had his say in the ongoing ruckus over Oscar Piastri’s penalty in Sao Paulo. Antonelli picked up wheelspin twice at the restart after a Safety Car deployment, was swamped by Piastri and Charles Leclerc into Turn 1, and – depending on your point of view – turned in to the corner as if Piastri wasn’t already arriving on the inside line at high speed.

“Well, I think, if you stand by the driver’s guidelines, Oscar is wrong – and, you know, the stewards stand by the guidelines and that’s why the penalty was given,” Antonelli said.

“You know, also in Zandvoort, I was penalised. Obviously, it was a bit different, but the dynamic was kind of the same, you know. I was not fully alongside in Zandvoort and I collided with Charles and I got my penalty.

“And with Oscar, the thing is, yes, approaching the braking he was alongside me, but when we brake, he broke much earlier than me. And from being fully alongside, his front wing was at the back of my wheel, was in my rear wheel.

“And then, of course, you know, then obviously we were also three wide, which is never easy. I mean, the thing also, everything happened so quick that it’s hard.

“I was trying to give space to Charles, of course, because I had Oscar inside me. But then, obviously, in the braking, I didn’t even see him anymore because he broke so much earlier than me.

“But then, obviously, he [Piastri] locked up and I closed a bit the corner and we collided. I think it was an unlucky situation.

“But if we stand by the guidelines, the penalty is fair because it wasn’t at my mirror, at the level of my mirror. And that’s how it is, of course.

“Maybe it can be a bit unfair, maybe it was a racing incident because the situation was tricky. But the rules are these and that’s why in Qatar we will discuss about it for the future to try to make it better.”