by SIMONE PELUSO
“We didn’t have to worry about the white lines anymore, and instead I got screwed“. As Oscar Piastri he appeared before the journalists’ microphones immediately after qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, furious about the erasing his time best in Q3 for having exceeded the track limits in curva 6.
Changes to track limits and gravel, but it’s not enough
Despite the white lines having been moved back and placed almost in line with the external gravel (thus also reducing the kerbs) and the insertion of gravel trap exiting turns 9 and 10 (all to avoid paradoxical situations like in 2023), the Race Direction has However, some time trials were cancelled during the session. Piastri paid the brunt of it, going from third to seventh, but in Q2 Gasly also lost a position due to the cancellation of his last attempt (the Frenchman was eliminated anyway).
The McLaren protest
In light of all this and the briefing with drivers and teams, the McLaren did not accept the decision of the FIA and has put forward a official protest to ask for a review of the results of Saturday’s qualification. Andrea Stella himself declared the decision at least unclear: “The system for checking track limits is old and is not applied equally to everyone. We are not satisfied with the evidence provided by the Race Direction, because the images are blurry and in shadow.”
But all in vain: the Federation deemed the protest inadmissible and Piastri will therefore be forced to start on the fourth row in tomorrow’s race.
