Piastri, who initially secured the second position on the starting grid, has now been demoted to fifth place due to a penalty imposed by the FIA-appointed F1 Race Stewards. The penalty was a result of Piastri obstructing Kevin Magnussen’s Haas during the first qualifying session at Imola.
Following the conclusion of the qualifying session, the Race Stewards carefully analyzed various pieces of evidence, including statements from Piastri and Magnussen, data from the positioning/marshalling system, video footage, telemetry provided by the teams, team radio communications, and onboard video footage. The stewards’ statement highlighted the following findings:
Piastri obstructed Magnussen at the chicane at Turns 2 and 3 when exiting the pits. Piastri explained that, due to the layout of the circuit, he was unable to see Magnussen until it was too late. However, he tried to accelerate quickly to avoid hindering Magnussen.
Magnussen acknowledged the difficulty of seeing cars behind in various parts of the track, including the aforementioned section. However, the stewards reviewed the team radio communications and found that Piastri’s team did not alert him to the approaching car of Magnussen until it was too late for Piastri to take any action to avoid the obstruction.
Furthermore, there was a significant speed difference of approximately 140km/h between the two cars, with Magnussen following only 40-50m behind Piastri at that moment. As a result, Piastri was in the middle of the chicane when Magnussen caught up directly from behind. It was evident that Magnussen was on a fast lap since exiting Turn 19.
Les commissaires ont également examiné comment d’autres pilotes ont été alertés de l’approche des voitures, notant qu’ils ont reçu des avertissements beaucoup plus tôt et ont pu éviter les obstructions dans la même chicane.
Étant donné l’importance de la gestion du trafic pour les voitures plus lentes, en particulier pendant le Q1, les commissaires ont conclu que le manque d’avertissement adéquat a causé un « obstruction inutile » dans ce cas spécifique.
