Oscar Piastri narrowly avoided a grid penalty during Friday’s Free Practice 2 session at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza after a pit lane infringement, allowing the McLaren driver to continue his weekend unscathed. The incident occurred early in the session but, despite the breach, the race stewards chose to issue only a warning rather than a penalty.
Details of the Pit Lane Incident During Practice
Shortly after the start of FP2, Kimi Antonelli spun his Mercedes into the gravel at Lesmo 2, prompting a red flag that halted the session. While the track was being cleared, Piastri pulled out of his garage slightly before race control had given the green light, which led him to enter the pit lane’s fast lane prematurely. This was a breach of the pit lane regulations, but it happened during a practice session rather than qualifying or the race.
The stewards took into account that McLaren admitted to misinterpreting the messages from race control.
The team acknowledged during the hearing that they misjudged the messages and reacted to the ‘track clear’ signal rather than the one indicating the actual restart time,
the stewards detailed. As a result, they determined Piastri did not gain any meaningful advantage from the mistake and thus refrained from imposing a sporting penalty.
Piastri’s Reaction and Performance After the Incident
After the session, Piastri remained composed when discussing the infringement.
We just misjudged the messaging and timing system,
he said.
We went a little bit early, but I’m not concerned. A warning is one thing, but a sporting penalty would have been surprising.
Despite the pit lane scare, Piastri delivered a strong performance in FP2, finishing second just behind his teammate Lando Norris. After missing FP1, the Australian driver was determined to make up ground.
Today has been a good day. I felt like I hit the ground running. The car felt pretty strong.
Looking ahead, Piastri expressed cautious optimism about the competition, noting Williams’ impressive pace during the sessions.
It will be interesting to see if they stay up there tomorrow. It’s going to be a close weekend,
he added.
The Broader Stakes at the Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix weekend is shaping up to be fiercely competitive, with leading teams such as Ferrari, Red Bull, Williams, and McLaren all vying for top positions. Piastri currently leads the championship by 34 points over his teammate Norris, placing extra pressure on him to maintain his momentum against these rivals.
Friday’s events also served as a reminder to the McLaren team about the importance of precision in pit lane procedures, especially as the weekend progresses. Both McLaren drivers have displayed promising pace, suggesting that qualifying sessions will likely be highly contested and exciting for fans.
Looking Forward to the Upcoming Races at Monza
With Piastri demonstrating resilience through the pit lane incident and strong practice pace, expectations are high for the remainder of the weekend. Fans can anticipate an intense showdown as Monza continues to challenge the drivers and teams in one of the season’s most thrilling venues.
