Aussie F1 star Oscar Piastri left fuming after ’embarrassing’ Austrian grid drop

Australian F1 star Oscar Piastri says his drop from third to seventh on the grid for the Austrian GP due to exceeding track limits is ’embarrassing’ for the sport.

Piastri set the third fastest time in qualifying on Sunday but will now start seventh after Race Control ruled he had exceeded track limits by the narrowest of margins.

The usually mild-mannered Piastri was far from impressed by the decision.

“For me it’s embarrassing,” Piastri told Sky Sports.

‘We do all this work with track limits, put gravel in some places and I didn’t even go off the track, I stayed on the track.

“It was probably my best turn six and it’s being removed.

‘I don’t understand why they spent hundreds of thousands or millions changing the last two corners when there are still corners you can get rid of.

‘There’s no reason why this corner should be a problem for the track limits, especially if you stay on the track like I did. Or not in the gravel.

The race management ruled that Piastri had exceeded the track limits by the smallest margin

“I find it shameful that we go to the limit and if I’m one centimeter further, I end up in the gravel.”

Commentator Martin Brundle called it a ‘cruel’ barter.

“He didn’t really touch the gravel. It is always deceptive on board, but that is a cruel call for Piastri,” he said.

‘Normally if you cross the track boundaries you end up in the gravel.’

McLaren was also unhappy with the outcome and lodged a protest, but this was rejected.

“There can be no protest against a decision of the stewards,” the stewards said in a statement.

The Australian star will start seventh for the Austrian GP

‘Furthermore, the protest does not meet a number of the required criteria for the admissibility of a protest … the stewards therefore reject the protest as inadmissible.’

The Australian’s teammate, Lando Norris, qualified second on the grid and will start the race together with world champion Max Verstappen.