Piastri escapes grid penalty after pitlane misstep in FP2

F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri has avoided a grid penalty for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix after being investigated by the stewards for a pitlane transgression during Friday’s second practice session at Monza.

The McLaren driver was called up after leaving his pit box before the official green light had been given following a red flag stoppage. Under race director instructions, drivers are not permitted to join the fast lane until race control signals the restart time of the session.

In their ruling, the stewards chose leniency, handing Piastri a reprimand rather than a grid drop. The statement read:

“The team admitted during the hearing that they made a mistake as they reacted to the ‘track clear’ message instead of reacting to the message indicating the re-start time of the session.

“The Stewards acknowledge that, in contrast to prior incidents of similar nature happening in Qualifying, no significant sporting advantage could potentially be gained as this happened in Free Practice and therefore consider a reprimand to the competitor to be appropriate.”

The decision spares Piastri the fate of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who earlier this season received one-place grid penalties for similar infringements during qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I think we just misjudged and got confused with the messaging and timing system. We went a little bit early but not concerned,” Piastri said just ahead of the stewards’ ruling.

“It might be a warning or something, but I would be surprised if it’s a sporting penalty.”

Strong Return in FP2

Piastri had already faced disruption on Friday after sitting out FP1 to allow McLaren junior Alex Dunne a run. Despite the missed mileage, the Australian was immediately competitive on his return in FP2, ending the session fourth fastest, just under two-tenths shy of teammate and pacesetter Lando Norris.

“Today has been a good day. Not doing FP1, I had a bit of catching up to do in FP2 but I feel I hit the ground running,” he said.

“The car felt pretty good. I just got the setup a little bit wrong on the soft and the second lap felt pretty decent considering it was the second lap on the tyre. Feeling pretty good.

• Italian Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

“I think it was also who was in the mix that was a surprise. The Williams have looked strong in both sessions. Let’s see if they’re still there tomorrow. I think it’s going to be a close weekend.”

With the stewards taking a lighter stance and his pace looking promising, Piastri can now turn his full focus to what is shaping up to be a fiercely competitive weekend at the Temple of Speed.

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