Oscar Piastri wants the FIA “to set the precedent for the future” with harsher penalties after George Russell incident

McLaren rookie driver Oscar Piastri was a victim of an illegal overtake by George Russell in the sprint race at COTA and wants FIA to set the precedent for such incidents with harsher penalties.

Starting fifth on the grid, Piastri had a slow start to the Sprint race on Saturday (October 21). His misery was compounded when the drivers behind him hounded him when he had overcooked his tires early in the race.

Mercedes driver George Russell also pounced on the opportunity but exceeded track limits while overtaking the McLaren driver. Russell didn't relinquish his position and was subsequently handed the standard five-second penalty. The time penalty only dropped the Brit from seventh to eighth while Piastri was classified 10th.

The Australian wants the governing body to take strict action concerning such incidents as he believes drivers would be incentivized to overtake off the track and deal with the penalty later.

“The one with George, the front wing wasn’t even at my rear wheel,” said Piastri to the-race.com. "The one with George was clear, the stewards gave him a penalty for it. It’s just a question in that racing situation whether the penalty was right and whether it sets a precedent for the future.”

When asked if drivers were deliberately making such moves, he added:

“I don’t know if I would go that far. I feel like in that situation, to me that was quite blatant. I feel like swapping the cars back around shouldn’t be that difficult in that set of circumstances."

“So maybe some people will have it pre-meditated, but it definitely sets a bit of a precedent for the kind of penalty you are going to get for doing that. If you are in a quicker car, it does give you an incentive,” he added.

George Russell had gotten away from a similar penalty at Monza, where he overtook Esteban Ocon off the track, but simply pulled off into the distance, rendering the penalty ineffective.

With multiple drivers exploiting the gray area, Piastri wants the FIA to clamp down and introduce harsher penalties.

---

Oscar Piastri reflects on his 'horrible' sprint race

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started fourth and fifth for the Sprint race on Saturday, (October 21). Norris showed solid race pace finishing fourth, while Piastri endured a tough race dropping down to 10th at the end of the 19-lap ordeal.

Oscar Piastri in the Sprint race

Martin Brundle described Piastri's pace as 'horrible' in the latter stages of the sprint race compared to teammate Norris. The rookie driver explained post-race:

“Just didn’t really have the grip. I thought the pace in the first couple of laps was OK but just a lot of battling with the other cars around. I don’t know if the tires were not so good after that or what the issue was.”

Oscar Piastri also wasn't sure if his MCL60 sustained damage from the collision with Carlos Sainz.

Piastri lines up 10th on the grid in the United States GP that starts on Monday, October 23.