McLaren Issue Statement Following Controversial Oscar Piastri Brazil GP Penalty

McLaren have responded to the 10-second time penalty that was handed to Oscar Piastri following an incident on lap six of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Piastri's title charge took a monumental hit on a slippery Sunday afternoon at Interlagos, after the Australian was involved in an early collision with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

An early Safety Car phase ramped up the pressure and, after starting fourth on the grid, an eager Piastri attempted a move on Antonelli for second place into Turn 1 at the restart.

But moments later, a lock-up saw the McLaren hit Antonelli's Mercedes, sending the latter into the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

In fact, Leclerc's car lost its front-left tyre and suffered terminal suspension damage, meaning the Ferrari driver was forced to retire from the race, while Piastri and Antonelli escaped without damage.

However, after a review, the FIA's race stewards deemed Piastri fully responsible for the incident and handed him a 10-second penalty to be taken at his first pitstop, which happened to be on Lap 39 of 71.

Piastri, who dropped down from second to fifth as a result, also received two penalty points on his licence.

Speaking after the race, the Australian reflected on the much-talked-about incident with Antonelli, as well as the outcome of Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

“I got a really good Safety Car restart and went to the inside," he said. “I put myself up the inside pretty comfortably and there was obviously a bit of a lock-up, but I couldn’t go any further left than I already was – I can’t really just disappear.

"Then after that, not sure we made the right calls either, so a tough afternoon.”

McLaren issue response to Oscar Piastri's penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Speaking after the race, McLaren boss Andrea Stella responded to Oscar Piastri's penalty and fifth-placed finish.

"I need to review honestly with some attention," he told Sky Sports. "For the moment, we respect the decision of the stewards, and we need to take it on the chin and look forward."

Stella continued: "We need certainly to extract the full potential of the car and out of Oscar's driving in all conditions. Lately, we have faced low grip conditions that have challenged his natural style. We need to make sure that even when it doesn't work to our natural strength.

"We also need to look at the execution on the weekend, crashing in the sprint, today with the penalty, we also need to review if there is something more we could have done to help Oscar."

He added: "So, a few things we need to review, certainly not in a desperate way, but a rational way. We have many strengths on Oscar's side, and we need to make use of them."