Piastri loses Mexico GP points after penalty for Lindblad collision

An attempted pass on Arvid Lindblad ended with Oscar Piastri losing his points at the Mexico Grand Prix. The stewards gave the McLaren driver a 10-second penalty for their collision, dropping him from seventh to outside the points.

Piastri attacked around the outside at Turn 1; his front-right wheel then hit Lindblad’s left-rear as they approached Turn 2. The Racing Bulls driver ended up in the wall.

The stewards ruled that Piastri was never fully alongside and therefore could not claim the corner. They said Lindblad had left room on the outside through Turn 1 and had not forced Piastri off, although he was not obliged to leave that room. In their view, Piastri could have avoided the collision by moving farther left after Turn 1, even if that meant leaving the track before Turn 2.

Piastri gave a different account. He said Lindblad closed the door late when he first tried the inside, prompting him to move to the outside. He said Lindblad then pushed him so wide that he could go no farther left, and that he was already off the track when they touched. “I was trying to concede the position,” he said.

Lindblad had not been able to watch a replay and declined to comment on the collision. He said he was committed to racing for the place and was not going to let Piastri pass easily around the outside.

Piastri had qualified 12th, ending a streak of 60 Q3 appearances including sprint qualifying. He gained three places at the start, then passed Franco Colapinto and Lindblad to reach seventh.

Piastri was 13 seconds ahead of Lindblad when Valtteri Bottas crashed. A subsequent safety car and standing restart closed the gap, with Lindblad moving ahead at the lights. Piastri spent 12 laps behind him before the collision.

Piastri brought a damaged McLaren to the finish. He said the final 10 laps had been hard work and that the damage looked significant when he saw the car afterwards.