Oscar Piastri is not ready to write off Max Verstappen for either the Austrian Grand Prix or the world title this season. The Australian observed how the Dutchman was consistently closing in on the McLarens during the free practice sessions in Spielberg. However, a yellow flag triggered by Pierre Gasly disrupted the qualifying round for both Verstappen and Piastri. “These things happen sometimes,” the McLaren driver remains level-headed.
A third-place start for the Austrian Grand Prix was all that was in the cards for championship leader Oscar Piastri on Saturday. The Australian will start the race behind his teammate and pole-sitter Lando Norris. After his retirement in Canada, the British driver now has an excellent opportunity to catch up to his teammate in the drivers’ championship.
“I think I was missing that last tenth throughout the entire qualification,” Piastri explains after the session. “But not getting the chance to drive my last fast lap in Q3 was quite frustrating.” A late spin by Pierre Gasly briefly caused a yellow flag in the final phase of the qualification, preventing Piastri and Max Verstappen from completing their last run. “Sometimes these things happen. I was glad I didn’t lose any more places by not doing that,” continues the McLaren driver. “Third place is still a good starting position here. You can race on this circuit, so I will try to make some progress.”
‘Too Early to Rule Out Verstappen’
George Russell won the Austrian race from the third spot a year ago, although the Mercedes driver was aided by the collision between Verstappen and Norris. The two drivers were battling for the race lead and sustained so much damage in the clash that they could no longer compete for the podium positions. Verstappen starts the Austrian GP from the seventh spot this year, but Piastri believes it’s much too early to write off the Dutchman.
“I think it’s too early in the year to rule out Max,” Piastri says about the title chances of his Dutch rival. “I think we expected more from him this weekend, or in the qualification, because he came very close to our times in many practices. So I don’t know if he was also surprised by the yellow flag. It’s still too early.”
