Oscar Piastri Questions Charles Leclerc Move in Belgium

Oscar Piastri questioned the stewards’ decision not to penalise Charles Leclerc after the pair made contact while fighting for third place in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The incident occurred at Les Combes as Piastri attempted to overtake around the outside. The McLaren driver felt he was left only the minimum amount of space and was positioned on the white line before their wheels touched at the beginning of the braking zone.

The contact caused significant damage to the right-hand side of the floor and bargeboard area of the McLaren. The team estimated that Piastri lost approximately five to 10 points of downforce as a result.

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Leclerc was investigated by the stewards but received no sanction. Piastri was judged not to have positioned enough of his car alongside the Ferrari to be entitled to racing room on the outside.

“From where I was sitting, I was on the white line and got squeezed. We were very lucky not to have a bigger crash because we touched wheels at the start of the braking zone,” Piastri said.

Piastri did not explicitly demand a time penalty for Charles Leclerc. However, he believed at least a black-and-white warning flag could have been issued to discourage drivers from leaving rivals the absolute minimum amount of space.

The damage significantly affected the balance of Piastri’s car during the first stint. McLaren later adjusted the front-wing flap to compensate for the lost downforce, allowing his performance to improve in the second stint.

Piastri continued to struggle when running in Lewis Hamilton’s dirty air and briefly lost approximately 1.5 to two seconds before his pace stabilised. He eventually finished fifth, while Leclerc completed the race in second place.