Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has called out McLaren for not contesting the 10-second penalty imposed on Oscar Piastri during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Australian driver was hit with the penalty and two penalty points after contact with Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli, which led to a collision between the Italian and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
"At the safety car restart on lap 6, Car 81 (Oscar Piastri) attempted to overtake Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) on the inside of Turn 1. In doing so, PIA did not establish the required overlap prior to and at the apex, as his front axle was not alongside the mirror of Car 12, as defined in the Driving Standard Guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner," the stewards explained.
"PIA locked the brakes as he attempted to avoid contact by slowing, but was unable to do so and made contact with ANT. This contact caused ANT to make secondary contact with Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), who was positioned on the outside and was forced to retire from the race as a result.
"PIA was therefore wholly responsible for the collision. A 10-second time penalty and two penalty points are considered appropriate and consistent with recent precedents."
The penalty quickly became a popular talking point following the race, with many branding the decision as "harsh". Leclerc, who retired from the collision, argued that Piastri wasn't solely to blame for the incident.
“I think actually Kimi was as much to blame as Oscar,” Leclerc told the media after the race. “For me, it was a bit of a 50/50 incident, Oscar being a bit optimistic and Kimi doing the corner like Oscar was never there, so that means they collided and then touched me. For me, the blame is not all on Oscar. Yes, it was optimistic, but this could have been avoided and I’m frustrated."
During an appearance on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner argued that McLaren should have contested the decision from the stewards.
"Why you don't go there and at least say something to the stewards? Even Charles Leclerc said 'I mean, it wasn't Oscar's fault.' If the other driver, who was taken out, says, 'Hey, nothing to do with him. Maybe I was a little bit too optimistic.' He didn't say that because he wouldn't admit to that one. But you know, three wide.
"At some stage with all these rules and interpretation, and 10 seconds instead of five and all that stuff, where does racing end? We just line up and we get away. Everybody gets away like they started. Make sure that you don't even look at anybody because you get a penalty. But the fans don't like that."
Arguing that even if the protest had been unsuccessful, it would have boosted morale within the team, Steiner added: "It's psychological as well. Obviously, I overdid it sometimes, which doesn't help. But then stating the facts, it shows that you know what you're doing. You show this and this is wrong. You give your point of view. Will you win it? You don't know. But you always have to try. That's my opinion.
"And as you say, not only the drivers, the whole team, the people at home who have to come in on Monday to work again, they know that everybody's trying their best. It's not like we let it go."
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