Close call almost costs Oscar Piastri after 'erratic' pre-race incident
A pre-race incident put Oscar Piastri in the hot seat before the Qatar Grand Prix had even got underway on Monday morning (AEDT), where the Australian inherited his way onto the podium in third place.
Ahead of lights out at the Lusail International Circuit, Piastri completed several reconnaissance laps as part of his final preparations with his car before returning to the McLaren garage.
During one of the laps, Piastri passed two cars on his way back into pit lane, coming close to making contact with slower-moving cars, which saw him come under investigation by the FIA stewards.
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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri in Qatar. AP Photo/ Darko Bandic
Having to wait the entire Grand Prix for a verdict, Piastri was subsequently deemed to have breached the International Sporting Code but escaped with a warning.
The stewards reviewed all relevant footage and summoned the Melburnian for his version of events after the chequered flag.
"The driver explained the two cars in front of him were travelling very slowly and he wished to overtake them," the stewards said in their post-race ruling.
"The team provided telemetry evidence that car 81 was not travelling at excessive speed and that the driver was in control at all times.
"Although the manoeuvre appeared erratic on the video, we did not determine that it was dangerous.
"However, such erratic manoeuvres should be avoided, hence the penalty of a formal warning is applied."
Charles Leclerc leads Oscar Piastri during the Qatar Grand Prix. Clive Mason via Getty Images
Starting third on the grid, Piastri finished behind winner Max Verstappen and runner-up Charles Leclerc.
Piastri's teammate Lando Norris had been running second and was battling Verstappen for the race win before a costly stop-go penalty for a yellow flag infringement set in motion a 10th-placed finish for the Briton.
Despite coming within a second of Leclerc in the closing laps, Piastri was unable to get ahead of the Monacan.
"It was a tricky race," he said.
"The cars at the front seemed to have very similar pace to each other, and it was really, really tough to make the inroads to get into DRS and then far enough into DRS to overtake.
"So a couple of good moments with Charles (Leclerc) out there and yeah, nice to end up on the podium, but not quite the result we're looking for."
With Norris securing just two championship points for his efforts — which included one for setting the fastest lap of the race — the fight between McLaren and Ferrari for the constructors' championship will now be decided in the season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren needed to out-score Ferrari by 15 points to sew up the title but could only achieve 17 to Ferrari's 26 in Qatar.
McLaren pairing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Getty
McLaren leads the constructors' championship with 640 points to Ferrari's 619 with 44 available in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
"It's going to be an exciting end to the year. Hopefully, we can be strong but it's going to take everything we've got to seal the deal," Piastri said.
The estimated difference in prize money between first and second place in the constructors' championship stands at $13.7 million.
