Formula 1 is in Austria for the ninth race of the season, and it has been a weekend so far full of on-track incidents. With drivers getting eliminated because of track limits, a few were also held responsible for impeding, such as Max Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver was alleged to have impeded Kevin Magnussen during Q1 of Friday’s qualification. Citing this, Verstappen was called by the FIA. While this was all over the news, Oscar Piastri got away with the same action.
The Dutchman pulled out a brilliant lap time to secure his fourth consecutive pole position this season. However, this was overshadowed by the immediate summon by the FIA.
Speaking about it, Magnussen said that he faced traffic at turn 1 with Max Verstappen, but in the end, the lap was deleted because of track limits. Although there were speculations that the defending champion would face a grid penalty because of this, in the end, he got away.
Piastri saved himself because of Max Verstappen?
The F1 world was hot on following Verstappen if the Red Bull driver would be stripped of his pole and be given a three-place grid penalty. However, with the FIA revealing their findings, it was evident that the two-time world champion would keep his pole.
Amid all this, Piastri evaded a similar situation where he impeded Fernando Alonso the same way Verstappen did. As seen in a YouTube video from the Qualifying session for Sunday’s race, the Australian was found directly in front of Alonso’s AMR23.
Oscar Piastri has been noted for impeding Fernando Alonso at the final corner ✍️#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/ECIL9a1S7q
— Autosport (@autosport) June 30, 2023
The Spanish driver was out in his flying lap and as he was about to cross the finish line, Piastri with his McLaren was right ahead in the Asturian’s line. Even though the situation was noted, there was no further investigation necessary.
What was Alonso’s reaction?
It is believed that the impeding caused the Aston Martin driver to lose a couple of tenths in sector 3 and it was evident in the time sheet.
Furthermore, it could have caused both Alonso and Piastri to have a high-speed crash, which in the end would have ruined both the drivers’ run in Austria.
Chequered flag on qualifying in Austria. 🏁
Both cars starting in the top 10 for the #AustrianGP. Nice work, team!
Now to take on tomorrow’s #F1Sprint and a chance at some solid points. pic.twitter.com/X4oj7YKXfH
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) June 30, 2023
In the end, both the drivers qualified for Q2 and subsequently Q1, with Alonso set to start the race from P7, behind his teammate Lance Stroll.
Despite starting from P7 and having his second-worst qualification this season, the 41-year-old feels optimistic about it. He believes he can move up during the race.
