Why was Oscar Piastri given a 3-place grid penalty for F1 Imola GP?

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was handed a three-place grid penalty ahead of the 2024 F1 Imola GP. The penalty was for impeding a car during the qualifying session on Saturday (May 18).

McLaren continued their decent on-track performance into 2024. In the first six races, they already bagged two podiums and one race win. Lando Norris' car received a massive upgrade at Miami, which allowed him to bag his very first F1 race victory.

Coming into Imola, Oscar Piastri's car also received the upgrade, and it clearly reflected in his lap times. The Australian topped the third and final practice session, and secured second place in the qualifying session.

After qualifying, however, Piastri was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen's Haas during Q1. When Magnussen started his flying lap, Piastri was exiting the pits and joining the track. At the entry of Turn 2, Magnussen had to brake because of the slow-moving McLaren. In both corners, the Dane had nowhere to go but to stay behind the slow car, which ruined his flying lap.

After qualifying, both drivers and their team representatitves were summoned by the stewards. According to F1.com, Piastri explained that he could not see the Haas driver due to the track layout at that particular turn, something which Magnussen acknowledged.

The stewards then examined McLaren's team radio and found that the pitwall was too late to warn Piastri about Magnussen. They also mentioned how other teams were able to warn the drivers about fast cars much earlier than McLaren.

Hence, the stewards decided to penalize Piastri. The Australian will start the Imola GP down from P5.

The official FIA document regarding Piastri's penalty read:

"The Stewards reviewed the team radio and Piastri’s team did not warn him of the much faster approaching car until Magnussen was too close for Piastri to do anything to safely avoid impeding.

"The Stewards also reviewed where other drivers were warned of approaching cars and it was significantly earlier, and they were able to avoid impeding at Turn 2/3. Traffic management for slower cars is an extremely important part of the team/driver combination, particularly in Q1. In this instance the Stewards determine that the lack of sufficient warning caused an “unnecessary impeding."

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Oscar Piastri's humorous post after being penalized for impeding in Imola GP qualifying

Though Oscar Piastri managed to secure second place in the qualifying session, he was later handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen during Q1.

Reacting to the penalty, the McLaren driver simply posted two pictures of him securing second place, and humorously captioned how it felt great while it lasted.

"These aged well. Fun while it lasted," Piastri humorously wrote on X.

Due to Oscar Piastri getting penalized, his teammate Lando Norris, who secured third place in qualifying, will now start the Imola GP from the front row.