Piastri’s blunt verdict on Lindblad crash after FIA penalty

Oscar Piastri has insisted that he couldn’t have done “much more” to avoid the clash with Arvid Lindblad that landed him a costly penalty in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Piastri crossed the line in seventh place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

But an incident in the closing exchanges with Lindblad prompted the stewards to add 10 seconds to his overall race time.

That dropped him outside the points to 13th instead.

Piastri had started down in 12th after a shock Q2 exit in qualifying.

He made up three spots on the first lap alone.

He then dispatched both Franco Colapinto and Lindblad in relatively quick succession.

Valtteri Bottas’ hefty crash on Lap 44 triggered a stoppage.

On the subsequent standing restart, Lindblad propelled his Racing Bulls back ahead of the McLaren.

Piastri had endured 12 laps behind his rival when he spied the chance to make a move around the outside of Turn 1.

Lindblad, though, held his ground.

The pair collided as the gap narrowed going into Turn 2, sending the Racing Bulls into the wall.

“I tried to go up the inside actually, and then he shut the door very, very late,” Piastri recalled.

“So I had to kind of avoid him and end up on the outside.

“I tried from there, and obviously he pushed me pretty wide, and at that point I knew I was not going to completely overtake.

“So I was trying to get out, but he pushed me so far wide that I couldn’t go any further left, and we just interlocked wheels, and that was the end result, of course.”

Explaining the reason that Piastri was penalised, the stewards determined that he had not claimed the right to the corner.

Thus the onus was on him to avoid the contact.

Asked whether he thought his McLaren was far enough alongside that he was entitled to racing room under the current racing guidelines, Piastri replied: “It’s always tricky.

“I was very close to alongside, and I was kind of there because I was avoiding a crash in the first place.

“A tricky one, but I think when we actually made contact, we were both going straight.

“It wasn’t like I tried to stick my nose into Turn 2 and stuck my nose where I shouldn’t.

“I was trying to concede the position, and I was a…”

The penalty cost Piastri six championship points.

It also reignited a broader conversation about how McLaren’s drivers are managed.

Lando Norris was booed at the Mexico City Grand Prix last weekend, just as he was at the same circuit 12 months prior.

Norris was loudly booed during the celebrations in the famous stadium section after his dominant 2025 victory.

The consensus was that fans were unhappy with the treatment of Oscar Piastri, which generated some hostility towards teammate and then title rival Norris.

As Craig Slater noted during Sky Sports F1’s coverage, Norris was jeered again in the same area of the circuit during Sunday’s drivers’ parade, though not as roundly as 2025.

Had this been broadcast, it would have received more attention, but Norris was spared the negative publicity by his absence from the podium.

“It’s interesting who got the boos,” Slater remarked in the grandstand.

“Mixed boos and cheers, let’s say, for Lando Norris.”

Norris’ recent comments about Franco Colapinto, one of the four native Spanish speakers on the grid, may have inflamed the crowd.

The 2025 world champion called for Colapinto to be banned after their race-ending tangle in Azerbaijan, though he later apologised both in public and privately.

But the reaction also indicates that the unease over how last season played out still hasn’t died down.

It’s worth remembering that Norris collided with Piastri in the Singapore Sprint just last month, which brought McLaren’s driver management back into focus.

The British driver was initially bullish in his response before expressing his regret.

Still, the Singapore incident pales in comparison to the events of Monza last year, where Piastri infamously had to return second place following Norris’ slow pit stop.

Ever the team player, Piastri himself downplays the significance of that moment whenever the subject comes up, and he has always said that he was treated fairly last year.

But clearly, it still doesn’t sit right with a section of the sport’s fanbase.

There was an assumption that Piastri would fight for the title again this year, but McLaren didn’t deliver a good enough package, and the Australian has struggled individually too.

Piastri only lost three points at Monza and eventually finished 13 behind Norris, so in a mathematical sense, it wasn’t decisive.

But the perception lingered.

In the FIA racing guidelines, the driver attempting a pass must have a “significant portion” of their car alongside the other car at the apex to be entitled to racing room.

What constitutes “significant” is often debated — typically, at least the front axle of the overtaking car must be alongside the other car’s rear axle.

The stewards in Mexico judged that Piastri had not reached that threshold.

Piastri’s account suggests that his positioning was complicated by having to avoid an earlier collision.

He said he was “kind of there because I was avoiding a crash in the first place.”

The incident has drawn comparisons to other recent controversial penalties in Formula 1.

Drivers and teams have repeatedly asked the FIA for more consistent application of the racing guidelines.

The penalty dropped Piastri from a points-paying position to 13th, leaving McLaren without any representation in the top 10.

Norris finished fourth in the race.

The result widened the gap between McLaren and the championship leaders in the constructors’ standings.

Piastri has not publicly appealed the decision.

McLaren has not issued a statement regarding the incident beyond the team’s usual post-race debrief.

The next race on the calendar is the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Piastri will enter that race looking to recover from a difficult weekend in Mexico.

His qualifying performance — 12th after a Q2 exit — was his worst of the season.

The collision with Lindblad added to what has been a frustrating run of form for the Australian.

He has not stood on the podium since the Japanese Grand Prix in April.

Lindblad, for his part, retired from the race after the contact.

The Racing Bulls driver was classified 17th.

Neither driver faced any further sanction beyond Piastri’s time penalty.

The FIA stewards’ report noted that the incident was reviewed and the penalty applied immediately after the race.

Piastri’s full interview transcript shows a driver who is measured but firm in his assessment.

He does not accuse Lindblad of deliberate wrongdoing.

He does, however, insist that his own options were limited.

“I was trying to concede the position,” he said.

That line — that he was attempting to give the place back — is central to his defense.

If true, it means the contact occurred not during an aggressive overtake, but during an attempted withdrawal.

The stewards did not comment on that specific claim in their written decision.

The incident is unlikely to be reviewed further unless McLaren formally requests a right of review, which requires “a significant and relevant new element” that was unavailable at the time of the decision.

No such request has been announced.

The broader context of the Mexican Grand Prix included a tribute to Alan Jones, Australia’s 1980 Formula 1 world champion, who died on November 5 at the age of 80.

Piastri shared the Australia GP’s Instagram post on his Instagram Story, featuring a photograph of Jones alongside the word “Vale” and the dates 1946–2026.

Jones’ death prompted tributes from across the Formula 1 community.

Former Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner shared a photo of the late legend, writing “RIP Alan Jones” on his Instagram Story.

Former F1 driver Mark Webber also paid tribute to his fellow Australian, speaking to Speedcafe about the loss.

“It’s a sad day for Australian motorsport,” Webber said.

“We had so many giggles off camera.