Oscar Piastri claims he’s ’embarrassed’ after violating track limits at Austrian GP Qualifying

Oscar Piastri qualified seventh for the race in Austria after his lap time was deleted.

Oscar Piastri claims he’s ’embarrassed’ after violating track limits at Austrian GP Qualifying

Oscar Piastri (via IMAGO)

Track limits have always been a controversial topic in F1. Moreover, the Red Bull Ring is often known to be a mayhem for track limits violations. To reduce such instances, the FIA and F1 tried to double down on this problem by adding gravel traps on the exit of turns nine and ten. However, unusually, Oscar Piastri’s lap time was deleted for a violation on a different part of the circuit in turn six, claiming the incident to be an embarrassing one.

In the early 2000s, drivers were in the habit of using every bit of tarmac available to them whether staying inside the track or going off it as the regulations were not defined back then. This soon changed as FIA implied a stricter outset on such violations ever since 2022, and has followed up on that. However, to tackle the problem of too many incidences of track limits violations, they have now resorted to using natural boundaries that would lose drivers time if they venture out on them.

https://youtu.be/6SeeEXo18_Y?si=yc-DKI0luzU0bQUf

Despite F1 using gravel traps to slow the driver’s down, Oscar Piastri was found to be guilty as he had ventured over the white line in turn six and his lap time of 1:04:786 was deleted.

FS Video
For me, it’s embarrassing. We do all this work for track limits, put gravel in places, and I didn’t even go off the track. I stayed on the track and [it was] probably my best Turn six and it gets deleted. I don’t know why they’ve spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, trying to change the last two corners when you still have corners [where] you can go off. But, anyway, everyone else kept it in the track – I didn’t. That’s how it goes.
Oscar Piastri said in an interview with Sky Sports F1

However, the FIA’s judgment of the situation enraged the Aussie. The 23-year-old reckoned the expense carried out by F1 to monitor track limits is just vain. He further explained his stance by describing the situation at turn six, where the gravel comes hard and fast, and if the driver is even a millimeter over the line, then they are in a dire situation and their lap time is already wasted.

McLaren is unhappy with the FIA’s decision to delete Oscar Piastri’s lap time

Piastri’s frustration was also conveyed by Pierre Gasly, who was also a victim of the track limit violation. Moreover, both the teams were unhappy with the FIA’s discernment, and McLaren took matters into their hand to resolve the issue.

Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri (via IMAGO)

Team principal, Andrea Stella reportedly went to the stewards to discuss the lap time deletion.

McLaren was in total disbelief regarding how the situation was dealt with. To resolve the matter, they went to the stewards in an attempt to get Piastri reinstated to P3 on the grid.

The possibility of the lap time being reinstated is highly unlikely. However, there is a huge uproar in the paddock regarding the duality of track limit rules, so a uniform system needs to be adopted by the FIA soon to prevent the issue from becoming big yet again.

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