Charles Leclerc says Kimi Antonelli should have been equally responsible for the initial contact with Oscar Piastri that sent the Ferrari driver out of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Piastri tried to pass Antonelli on the inside of Turn 1 after the safety car restart, but Leclerc fought for second place on the outside at the moment of three-wide. Leclerc remained wide, but Antonelli and Piastri tied on entry into the corner, with the stewards giving Piastri a 10-second time penalty and holding the Australian “fully responsible” for the accident.
“I watched from a distance, sitting in the grass looking at a big screen,” Leclerc said. “It’s too bad. You’re collateral damage to the incident between Oscar and you. In my opinion, you’re actually just as responsible as Oscar.
“For me, this is a bit of a 50-50 affair. Oscar was optimistic and Kimi was taking the corner as if Oscar wasn’t there. That means they collided and touched me. It’s very frustrating considering we’re fighting for second place in the constructors’ championship and we’re the only ones who haven’t finished the race. So it’s going to be very difficult to get second place now.”
Lewis Hamilton also retired from the race at Interlagos due to crash damage sustained in two separate accidents, leaving Ferrari fourth in the constructors’ championship, 36 points behind second-placed Mercedes.
“It’s a tough weekend, or at least a tough Sunday,” team principal Fred Vasseur said. “We felt that we were in a good position thanks to Charles. He had a good start, a good restart, he took the margin on the (outside) curb and we are paying the full price for the crash between Antonelli and Piastri.”
“I don’t care who is at fault, Piastri or Antonelli, but it’s certainly not Charles! And this is difficult because you can’t give up points in this match. Giving up points means giving points to other players as well. It’s a double penalty, and in our case it’s very severe.”
