‘Could’ve been a massive crash’: Piastri fumes as rival’s act goes unpunished
Kimi Antonelli has extended his F1 title race lead after George Russell ended his Belgian Grand Prix in a frustrated mood, retiring on the first lap following a crash with Lewis Hamilton.
It made for a controversial start from Ferrari with Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc almost crashing with Australian Oscar Piastri on the eighth lap.
Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri make contact. Sky Sports
Piastri was fourth and putting pressure on Leclerc. Both racers came side-by-side before contact was made with the Aussie disadvantaged but staying in fourth.
“The stewards will be looking at that, (Leclerc) not leaving a car’s space in the braking zone,” Brundle said.
On the team radio Piastri then claimed “he didn’t leave enough space. That could’ve been a massive crash.”
Piastri had debris fly off his car during the crash and was overtaken by Ferrari rival Hamilton on the next lap. Leclerc was given a reprieve by the stewards for the contact, with no further action handed down.
Brundle was quiet on the broadcast before saying, “That’s why I never want to be a steward”.
Commentator David Croft added: “I think your silence said it all there Martin to be honest”.
Post-race, Piastri questioned the decision to not investigate the contact further.
“I lost parts of my car and I don’t know where I was supposed to go,” Piastri told Sky Sports.
“So I was equally surprised that nothing came.
“But...it’s small contact which had big consequences for me. Could have had very big consequences for both of us. But it is what it is.
“We’re (McLaren) a bit inconsistent at the moment,” Piastri admitted further.
George Russell jumps out of his car. Getty
“There’s just a lot of things that skew the picture a bit at the moment. I think hopefully we can get on top of those bits first.”
F1 title contender Russell was part of a dramatic opening minute to the race after Max Verstappen overtook Russell’s teammate, Kimi Antonelli, early.
Antonelli regained the lead seconds later as Russell pushed back to fourth with Hamilton close behind him. Russell went straight into the gravel and had to retire while Hamilton raced on.
“That’s bad news for George Russell and his F1 championship campaign,” Martin Brundle said on Sky Sports.
Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for his role in the crash and Antonelli saw off a challenge from Leclerc to get back to winning ways and stretch his driver championship lead over Russell.
Leclerc was second and Max Verstappen rounded out the podium after briefly taking, then losing, the lead from Antonelli on the opening lap.
During the race, Russell said he was “very disappointed” with the situation and was lost for words when asked about the implications in the title race.
Race winner Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium. Getty Images
Antonelli went into the race with a 25-point lead over Russell after recent reliability issues for the Italian cut his advantage. That has now nearly doubled.
Antonelli will leave Belgium with a 45-point gap over Hamilton, who moved up to second, and is 50 points ahead of Russell.
In a sign of tension at Mercedes after a heavy blow to his title chances, Russell seemed to blame his car, rather than Hamilton, for the incident. Russell said the incident wouldn’t have happened if his car hadn’t lost speed on the straight into the corner, dropping him behind Hamilton.
Piastri finished in fifth for McLaren and Isack Hadjar was a strong sixth for Red Bull despite starting at the back of the field because of a penalty.
