Continuing the superior form in Austria, Oscar Piastri initially qualified P3 for the main race. The Aussie driver believes he had put together his best lap of the day. However, luck didn’t favor the McLaren star as the FIA found him in violation of track limits. Resultantly, he trickled down from P3 to P7 on the starting grid.
The ruling body adjudged Piastri to be in violation of track limits in Turn 6. The #81 driver, however, argued he did not drive off the track. Moreover, he targeted the Grand Prix organizers for spending a fortune to avoid a 2023-like situation. That, however, did not serve its purpose.
Sky Sports F1 quoted him as saying, “We did all of this work for track limits, put gravel in places, and I didn’t even go off the track. I stayed on the track. It was probably my best Turn Six and it gets deleted. I don’t know why they’ve spent hundreds of thousands trying to change the last two corners when you still have corners you can go off.”
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
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Piastri was initially third fastest but had his final lap time deleted for track limits and drops to P7#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/NvKNhttN3H
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024
Piastri referred to the Austrian GP organizers spending a fortune on installing new gravel traps. On top of that, they have also deployed AI solutions to track any violations. Piastri then further targeted the ruling body for treating the white line as the limitation and not the gravel trap.
Former driver and Sky F1 expert Anthony Davidson echoed a similar sentiment. He was not “massively convinced” over the penalty handed to Piastri. Davidson, however, gave the FIA the benefit of the doubt, wondering if they had a camera angle that decisively found the McLaren driver in violation of track limits.
Oscar Piastri ’embarrassed’ after FIA’s contentious verdict
Piastri then expressed his ’embarrassment’ over the penalty. When asked the reason for it, he talked about the contentious violation to be his best attempt in Turn 6. He then further stressed about the FIA and the organizers’ failed efforts to ensure no track limit violations.
He explained, “That was probably the best Turn Six I took. I was right to the limit of the track. I think that’s what everyone wants to see. Again, we have spent so much effort trying to get rid of these problems. There is no reason this corner should be an issue for track limits, especially when you stay on the track, like I did, or not on the gravel.”
Andrea Stella wasn’t convinced of the decision either. The McLaren team boss, as reported by F1 journalist Chris Medland, reached out to the FIA and demanded an explanation.
