30/06/2025 19:30
During the Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren informed Oscar Piastri that
his lunge on Lando Norris at Turn 4 was "too marginal" and that he
cannot attempt that move again. On lap 20 of the 70-lap race at the
Red Bull Ring, the Australian attempted to take the lead from his
team-mate, opting for a late dive down the inside, but the other
MCL39 shut the door. Piastri locked his front tyres and came
perilously close to making contact with Norris, but both survived
to tell the tale, with the latter ultimately leading home the
former for a one-two finish in Spielberg. In doing so, he reduced
his championship arrears to the 24-year-old to just 15 points after
11 rounds, setting up a scintillating three-round slate heading
into F1's summer break. There was plenty of great racing action
between the pair early in the grand prix in Styria, including on
lap 11, when Piastri briefly got past Norris at Turn 3, only for
the Briton to masterfully employ the switch-back and regain the
lead. McLaren, however, deemed the lap 20 move to be too far and
outside the accepted terms of papaya rules , with Tom Stallard
informing his driver of such over team radio. "Feedback from the
pit wall, the manoeuvre in Turn Four with the lock-up was too
marginal. We can't do that again," Piastri's race engineer said.
Team principal Andrea Stella, who explained McLaren's intervention
in his post-race media session, confirmed that the seven-time grand
prix winner apologised for the manoeuvre after crossing the
chequered flag. But was McLaren right to caution Piastri by
informing him that he could not replicate his lunge up the inside
of Turn 4 again? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment
and by voting below in the latest poll by RacingNews365 .
