Penalty drops Piastri out of the points at the Mexico Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri was penalised after colliding with Arvid Lindblad at the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix. The 10-second penalty dropped him from seventh place to outside the points, turning an already difficult race into a points-free result.

The McLaren driver had gained three places at the start, then passed Franco Colapinto and Lindblad to move into seventh. But the Australian spent the next 12 laps putting pressure on his rival. He tried to pass around the outside at Turn 1, then found himself on the inside at Turn 2; his front-right wheel struck the rear-left wheel of the Racing Bulls. Lindblad ended up in the wall.

Piastri said he was trying to avoid a crash after Lindblad closed the door late. Asked whether he had been entitled to racing room, he said: “It’s always tricky. I was very close to alongside, and I was kind of there because I was avoiding a crash in the first place.” He also argued that both cars were going straight when they made contact and that he could not move further away while already off track.

Lindblad, who had not been able to watch a replay, declined to comment on the incident. He nevertheless described it as a genuine race and said he was not going to let Piastri drive around him easily. The stewards, meanwhile, concluded the collision could have been avoided had Piastri’s car moved further left after Turn 1, even if that meant leaving the track before Turn 2.

The penalty capped a difficult Mexico weekend for Piastri. His run of 60 Q3 appearances, including sprints, ended at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where he qualified 12th. He also brought a damaged McLaren to the finish. “When I looked at the car afterwards, it was pretty significant,” he said of the damage, describing the final stint as hard work despite having enough pace to hold on.

After 19 of 23 rounds in the 2026 championship, Piastri sits seventh with 150 points and no wins, 230 points behind leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Lindblad is 11th with 38 points and no wins. Four rounds remain. McLaren is fourth in the constructors’ championship with 371 points, 259 behind Mercedes.