McLaren’s Oscar Piastri says he was surprised by the severity of the 10-second penalty he received for a collision at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday and expects further discussions with Formula One’s governing body to understand the decision.

The stewards deemed Piastri “wholly responsible” for the incident, handing him two penalty points on his licence in addition to the time penalty. The sanction has drawn criticism from fellow drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

“Fortunately for me, a lot of people have done the talking for me,” the Australian told reporters on Wednesday ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. “I think when one of my fellow drivers is involved in the accident and says it’s not your fault, that’s a pretty good indication.”

Piastri served the penalty for an early clash with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, which ended up putting Ferrari’s Leclerc out of the race. Piastri went on to finish fifth, behind teammate and title rival Lando Norris, who won the race.

The 23-year-old added that he and McLaren would seek clarification from the FIA on how the stewards reached their decision and whether the penalty guidelines might need reviewing.

“It’s something I’m sure we’ll discuss with the FIA, just to get more understanding,” Piastri said. “It was a bit of a surprise for everyone that the penalty was so harsh, myself included.”

He emphasized that he is not calling for an immediate rule change but wants insight into the stewards’ reasoning to help improve consistency in future decisions.

“The only thing you can do in these situations is try to understand the reasoning behind it and whether that needs to change or not,” he said.

Piastri expects constructive discussions, noting that previous talks between drivers, teams, and officials over incidents and penalties have generally been productive.

“It’s been very receptive in the past, and I’m pretty sure it will be in the future,” he added.