Penalty eliminates Oscar Piastri from scoring points at the F1 Mexico Grand Prix.

Piastri applied consistent pressure on his rival for 12 laps before attempting an outside pass in Turn 1; positioned on the inside line for Turn 2, he didn't yield early enough and collided with the rear-left wheel of Lindblad's car, sending the rookie into the wall.

“I tried to go on the inside, but he closed the door quite late,” the McLaren driver recounted. “So I had to avoid him and ended up on the outside.

“From there, I attempted to overtake, but he pushed me wide, and at that moment, I realized I wouldn't be able to complete the pass. I tried to back out, but he pushed me so far that I couldn't move left anymore, and we ended up interlocking wheels, leading to that outcome.”

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

When asked if he was far enough alongside to deserve racing room according to driving standards, Piastri replied: “It's always complicated. I was very close to being alongside, and I was there mainly to avoid a crash in the first place.

“A tricky situation, but I believe that when we made contact, we were both driving straight. It wasn't as if I was trying to force my way into Turn 2. I was attempting to yield the position, and I was already off the track, so I couldn't do much more.”

Meanwhile, Lindblad refrained from commenting on the incident since he hadn’t seen a replay, yet he still expressed his viewpoint: “In the end, we were fast; I was genuinely racing with him, and he was behind me for over 10 laps. I was committed to racing for the position and wasn't just going to let him easily drive past me.”

The FIA stewards viewed Piastri’s maneuver unfavorably, imposing a 10-second penalty that dropped him from seventh to outside the points.

“Approaching Turn 1, the driver of Car 81 attempted an overtaking maneuver on the outside of Car 41,” the stewards’ report stated. “Car 81 was never fully alongside Car 41, thus could not claim the corner rights. During Turn 1, the driver of Car 41 defended his position by releasing the brakes, but did not force Car 81 off the track, allowing for racing room on the outside, which he is not obligated to provide.

“The Stewards concluded that the collision could have been avoided if the driver of Car 81 had moved further left after Turn 1, even if that meant going off track before Turn 2.”

Having faced a challenging season, Piastri will undoubtedly feel disappointed, especially after nursing a damaged McLaren to the finish.

“I tried to assess how much damage I had,” he noted. “I could sense from Tom [Stallard, race engineer]'s voice that we sustained significant damage. When I inspected the car afterward, it was quite considerable, so it was tough going. I think we had enough pace to maintain a decent position in the end, but those last 10 laps were certainly not easy.”

Additional reporting by Stuart Codling and Ronald Vording