McLaren issue 'very big' crash warning after Oscar Piastri hit by Charles Leclerc

Andrea Stella has warned that lessons must be learned from the contact between Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc during the Belgian Grand Prix, cautioning that a similar incident could result in a "very big" crash.

Piastri attempted to overtake Leclerc around the outside on the Kemmel Straight on Lap 8 at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Ferrari moved slightly to the left as the pair approached the Les Combes braking zone, initiating side-to-side contact.

The MCL40 sustained floor damage that cost Piastri between two and three tenths per lap for the remainder of the race, relegating him to fifth while Leclerc went on to finish second behind race winner Kimi Antonelli.

The stewards investigated the incident but took no further action, ruling that Leclerc had followed the racing line and had not deliberately crowded Piastri off the track.

The damage proved costly. The Australian finished 19 seconds behind Antonelli, nearly 17 seconds adrift of Ferrari.

Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, the McLaren team principal questioned the criteria used in the decision.

"I will have to review what elements have been taken into account by the stewards, whether the determinant here is the relative position between Oscar's front axle and Leclerc's car," Stella said.

"I think in any case, when the cars are staying alongside for such a long time, I think we should make sure that the car that is not on the racing line, because it's defending the inside, does leave enough space.

"Because if there's a contact that is not controlled, then the crash is going to be very big.

"So I think there's possibly some learning to be taken out of this case," he added. "But to comment further, I would need to read the decision and see the case myself."

As predicted by Stella, the stewards' official decision document confirmed that while Piastri had "some overlap" on Leclerc, "the front axle of Car 81 was not ahead of the front axle of Car 16, and there was no possibility of Car 81 completing an overtake from that position."

The document added: "Car 16 did not deliberately crowd Car 81 off the edge of the track. Car 16 followed the racing line before the entry to Turn 5 by moving slightly to the left to open up for Turn 5, and side-to-side contact occurred between the two cars."