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 for exceeding track limits is “embarrassing” for the sport.

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

Piastri, usually calm, was not at all impressed with the decision.

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

‘We do all this work with the track limits, we 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 erased.

‘I don’t know why they have spent hundreds of thousands or millions trying to change the last two corners when there are still corners that can be worked on.

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

Race control ruled that Piastri had violated the track limits by a small margin.

‘I think it’s embarrassing to see us reach the limits of what we can do and if I’m one centimetre beyond that I’m in the gravel.’

Commentator Martin Brundle said it was a “cruel” decision.

“He didn’t touch the gravel. It’s always tricky from the edge, but it was a cruel decision for Piastri,” he said.

“Normally, if you go over the track limits, you end up in the gravel.”

McLaren was also not happy with the result and filed a protest, but it was rejected.

“A decision by the stewards is not open to protest,” the stewards said in a statement.

The Australian star will start the Austrian GP in seventh position

“Furthermore, the protest does not meet several of the criteria required for admissibility…therefore, the delegates reject the protest as inadmissible.”

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