The Leclerc-Piastri case in Spa
One of the most controversial episodes of the recent Belgian Grand Prix was the contact between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
The Stewards investigated the incident and decided not to impose any penalty on the Monegasque Ferrari driver.
Reading the reasons in the FIA document, it was highlighted that Piastri had no chance of completing an overtake – as his front axle was not ahead of Leclerc’s.
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Therefore, the Ferrari driver was not penalized, as he did not deliberately push Piastri’s car off track, following the ideal trajectory and then widening slightly to the left and touching the McLaren.
The drivers-FIA meeting in Budapest
What happened generated some confusion among the drivers regarding the application of the guidelines established by the International Sporting Code and the driving standards document. On Thursday in Budapest, a meeting was held with the FIA, precisely to clarify what happened at Spa-Francorchamps.
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Colleagues from The Race revealed what emerged from the meeting, starting from the drivers’ doubts, which highlighted concern about a precedent that could give the green light to very hard defenses in braking zones, with potentially dangerous outcomes.
After a long debate, the FIA Stewards admitted that, in hindsight, Leclerc’s defensive action should have deserved a 5″ penalty.
It must be said that Charles Leclerc himself had recognized yesterday that he had pushed too far in that situation with Piastri.
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An agreement was also reached for greater leniency for incidents after a Safety Car restart, which will be considered similar to a first race lap.
As announced yesterday, Lewis Hamilton did not participate in the meeting, nor did Alonso, Stroll, Bottas, and Perez.
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