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 reviewed various evidence, including statements from Piastri and Magnussen, positioning/marshalling system data, 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 in Turns 2 and 3 when exiting the pits. Piastri explained that, due to the circuit layout, 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 Magnussen’s approach until it was too late for Piastri to take any action to avoid 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.
The stewards also examined how other drivers were alerted to approaching cars, noting that they received warnings significantly earlier and were able to avoid obstructions at the same chicane.
Considering the importance of traffic management for slower cars, especially during Q1, the stewards concluded that the lack of sufficient warning caused an “unnecessary obstruction” in this specific case.
