McLaren's Piastri Wants FIA Talks on Norris Penalty

Oscar Piastri calls for FIA talks on Norris’ penalty, following a “boring” race in Austin where McLaren struggled for pace.

Oscar Piastri experienced a lonely race in fifth position during the United States Grand Prix. The McLaren F1 driver didn’t have the pace of those ahead of him and was well ahead of those behind, making his race rather quiet.

“It was pretty boring, to be honest. I didn’t have the pace to challenge those in front, but I had enough pace to keep the others behind, and that’s pretty much how it went for an hour and a half!” said Piastri, admitting that the MCL38’s updates are not quite there yet.

“I think it was a bit of a surprise; the car was tricky to drive all weekend. Even in qualifying, Lando made us look better than we were, so it’s not a shock. From the first laps of practice, Ferrari seemed very strong, and they’ve been solid for the last four races.”

“At Monza, it was the case, in Baku they were hard to keep behind, and in Singapore they were matching our pace, so it’s no surprise they’re fast. We expected it on this track, but we need to find performance.”

In Mexico, Piastri hopes his car will be more predictable on track: “I hope the car will be better to drive than it was this weekend. There will be less grip due to the altitude, and the corners are very different from here.”

“We’ll see, it’s a bit of a lottery to know who will get up to speed the quickest. We were very slow on the first lap in practice, and we didn’t know why. In Singapore, it was us who were the fastest, and that was fun.”

The Australian was instructed to slow down to avoid overtaking Lando Norris after the latter’s penalty, a decision he doesn’t fully understand: “They told me to slow down on the last lap, which makes sense. I saw the penalty, and it’s tough. I was in the opposite situation yesterday with Max, and I got penalized.”

“Considering these are similar incidents with reversed penalties, probably not! It’s difficult, especially when there’s a car on the outside, and both go off—it’s not easy to judge. Twenty or thirty centimeters make the difference. Put gravel there, and no one will go off!”

“It’s very tough. Every driver has a different interpretation, especially when you’re on the outside. Unless the car is ahead, you don’t really know where you’re going. It’s really hard, especially in these types of corners. Maybe we should adopt NASCAR rules and settle it in the pits! Though, no, some have tried that and got community service.”

He still advocates for a review of the rules with the stewards and the FIA: “I don’t know, but considering these are similar incidents with very different outcomes, we probably need to talk about it a bit.”