The incident was among the key topics discussed during a scheduled meeting between the drivers and FIA stewards ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Leclerc and Piastri made contact while fighting over third place at Les Combes on Lap 8 at Spa-Francorchamps, with the Ferrari moving across as the Australian attempted to challenge around the outside.
Piastri was squeezed towards the edge of the circuit before the cars touched wheels at the beginning of the braking zone, leaving the McLaren with floor damage that affected it for the remainder of the race.
The stewards investigated the contact but took no further action after determining Piastri had no realistic possibility of completing the overtake and Leclerc had followed the normal racing line.
However, The Race reported the stewards reconsidered the incident following feedback from the drivers during Thursday night’s meeting at the Hungaroring.
The consensus was that any repeat of Leclerc’s move would likely result in a five-second penalty, marking a change from how the incident was judged at Spa.
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Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft offered a stronger account of the discussion during coverage of opening practice in Hungary, claiming the stewards had accepted Leclerc should have been sanctioned.
“The Charles Leclerc incident at Turn 5, the stewards actually admitted on second thoughts that he deserved a penalty,” Croft said.
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“I think the consensus was, it needs a re-think for next time.”
Former Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson was unequivocal in his assessment and argued Piastri had been placed in a position from which he could no longer avoid contact.
“That was 100 percent – 100 percent – a penalty,” Davidson said.
“Piastri was in a position he couldn’t back out of. Once you are in that position where you can’t back out of it, and contact is made when the car on the defensive line is supposed to give a car’s width, but they make contact with you, it’s a no-brainer.
“I can’t believe he didn’t get a penalty.”
The original stewards’ ruling stated Piastri’s front axle had not moved ahead of Leclerc’s and concluded the Ferrari driver had not deliberately crowded his rival beyond the circuit boundary.
After the race, Piastri argued Leclerc should at least have been shown the black-and-white flag for the incident, although he stopped short of demanding a penalty.
“From where I was at, I was on the white line and got squeezed,” Piastri said at Spa.
“I think we were firstly very lucky not to have a bigger crash because, you know, we touched wheels in the start of the braking zone basically.”
Leclerc also acknowledged ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that he had pushed his defence too far.
“I kind of agree with Oscar, I think,” Leclerc told reporters in Budapest.
“At the end of the day, my view in the car is that I try to push things to the limit. With Oscar, it was a bit on the other side, so that’s probably not the way I want to race all the time.
“It’s also risky for me at the end of the day. You are always trying to leave the smallest place available. That was maybe a bit too far… Sketchy.”
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