FIA statement confirms PENALTY verdict for McLaren F1 star at Singapore Grand Prix

McLaren F1 team have been dealt a penalty verdict by the FIA after a disappointing weekend for both drivers in Baku.

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, championship leader Oscar Piastri lined up on the grid way back in P9 after crashing out in Q3 on Saturday.

Luckily for the Aussie racer, his team-mate only started two places higher in P7, but after less than half of the opening lap at this year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Piastri crashed once again, ruling him out of the race for good.

The 24-year-old still leads the drivers' standings but he shocked the sport in Baku by proving that he isn't completely faultless.

Replays showed that Sunday's race was a nightmare from lights out for Piastri, with the McLaren driver having clearly jumped the race start, along with Fernando Alonso.

As a result, the stewards slapped both drivers with a five-second penalty, but thanks to Piastri's lap one crash, he never got the chance to serve it.

Will Piastri serve five-second penalty at Singapore GP?

After Alonso got caught up in the confusion of Piastri's premature race start, the two-time champion served his penalty during Sunday's race in the pits, only managing to cross the line in P15.

However, given that Piastri crashed before he could serve his penalty in the Azerbaijan GP, McLaren were forced to wait for the verdict from F1's governing body over whether he would head to Singapore with a penalty hanging over him or not. Now, a statement from the FIA has confirmed the time penalty will not carry over to Singapore in two weekends time for Piastri.

The punishment verdict read: "The stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, team and in-car video evidence. The video evidence clearly showed the car moving prior to the start signal for the race was given."

As there was no mention of the penalty being carried over to the 18th round of the championship, Piastri can rest easy and return to the title fight without a punishment to his name next time out.

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