‘F*** me’: Piastri fumes after Austrian Grand Prix nightmare

Oscar Piastri has been left fuming and was not afraid to show it after a dramatic end to qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri has been left fuming and was not afraid to show it after his final opportunity in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix was wiped away.

His McLaren teammate Lando Norris blew the rest of the field away in stunning fashion on Sunday morning to take pole position by more than 0.5 seconds.

Norris’ flying lap was enough to end Max Verstappen’s reign of five consecutive pole positions at the Red Bull Ring.

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The 25-year-old Briton clocked an outstanding lap in one minute and 3.971 seconds to outpace nearest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.521 seconds, with Oscar Piastri third.

However, it is very likely Piastri would have at least improved his qualifying time had his final lap not been sabotaged when Pierre Gasly spun out on the track, causing a yellow flag to be waved.

“It was the fact I didn’t get to start it [his final lap], that was the problem I had,” Piastri told Sky Sports.

“Gasly spun at the last corner so I didn’t even open my second lap.

Lando Norris destroyed the rest of the field. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images.

“Lando has been very quick all weekend and it would have been a tough challenge, but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row. So always a shame when you don’t even get the chance but we can still have a good race from there.

“It’s sometimes just not your day.”

He was not afraid to show how he really felt when speaking over team radio after Gasly’s incident.

“Oh mate, I don’t have time for another lap, do I? F*** me, man. Jesus Christ,” he said.

You can hear the radio exchange in the video player above.

Piastri hinted that he believes his car has superior pace to Leclerc’s Ferrari when asked about his prospects for Sunday night’s race.

“I’m not planning on finishing third, that’s for sure.”

Norris, who is 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ title race, erased any hangover from his collision with Piastri in Canada two weeks ago with a thrilling demonstration of his speed and talent.

“It was a good lap, that’s for sure,” said Norris.

Lando Norris driving ahead of Oscar Piastri during the qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring. Photo by Darko Bandic / POOL / AFP.

“I guess that just little bit by little bit, I was able to get more time. Q1 was good, but I knew there were a few places I could get more time and I did what I planned to do.”

Verstappen. meanwhile, was also robbed of his final lap when Gasly spun in his Alpine.

“The whole of qualifying didn’t go well at all,” said Verstappen. “There was no corner where the car felt good, so that is a huge problem in qualifying. It wasn’t nice to drive at all.

“I don’t think we’re strong enough to challenge the McLarens... They’re at another level, but hopefully tomorrow we can at least be competitive with Ferrari or Mercedes.”

Ferrari’s Leclerc said: “I’m very pleased. It’s been a long time since we started on the front row and it’s been a difficult season overall, but the team has kept pushing.

“We brought some new parts this weekend which for sure made a difference. We know we have a better car in the race than in qualifying so I hope we can put more pressure on the McLarens.”

Leclerc’s teammate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was an encouraging fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, four-time champion Verstappen of Red Bull and Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber.

Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli was ninth in the second Mercedes and Gasly 10th.

Qualifying result and starting grid for Austrian Grand Prix

Front row: Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

2nd row: Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren), Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari)

3rd row: George Russell (GBR/Mercedes), Liam Lawson (NZL/RB)

4th row: Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull), Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Sauber)

5th row: Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes), Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

6th row: Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Alex Albon (THA/Williams)

7th row: Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB), Franco Colapinto (ARG/Alpine)

8th row: Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas), Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

9th row: Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas), Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Red Bull)

10th row: Carlos Sainz (ESP/Williams), Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber)

— with AFP

Originally published as ‘F*** me’: Piastri fumes after Austrian Grand Prix nightmare