Oscar Piastri rues bad luck as McLaren star just misses out on first Formula One victory after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris chaos at Austrian Grand Prix sees George Russell win

Oscar Piastri was left asking ‘what if?’ after the McLaren star ran out of time to win his first Grand Prix in Formula One.

George Russell was in the right place at the right time as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided in a spectacular finale at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, with Norris forced to retire while the world champion was hit with a 10-second penalty.

Mercedes star Russell swooped in to take the lead and Piastri, three seconds behind in second position but in the faster car, did not have enough time to close the gap with only a handful of laps remaining.

Piastri’s disappointment was confounded when he was given a grid penalty after exceeding track limits during his qualifying run on Saturday. Without that error, he could well have taken the chequered flag. 

And the Australian was fully aware that, had luck been on his side, he could have spent his fourth trip to the podium on the top step. 

‘A lot of what ifs and maybes,’ he said after the race. ‘Obviously starting from yesterday. 

The Australian missed out on a career-first Grand Prix win on Sunday

‘I know that is only my fourth podium in Formula One and so close to a win, it hurts a little bit. 

‘[I am] Happy with anoither podium but when it’s that close it can’t help but hurt a little bit.’ 

Piastri, typically mild-mannered and credited for a strong mentality during his young Formula One career, was enraged by the call against him on Saturday. 

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

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

‘It was probably my best turn six and it gets deleted.

‘I don’t know why they’ve spent hundreds of thousands or millions trying to change the last two corners when you still have corners you can go off.

‘There’s no reason this corner should be an issue for track limits, especially when you stay on the track like I did. Or not in the gravel.

Had he not been punished for exceeding track limits in qualifying, he could have won the race

‘I think it’s embarrassing that you see us pushing right to the limit of what we can do and if I am 1 centimetre more I’m in the gravel.’

Commentator Martin Brundle said it was a ‘cruel’ ruiling.

‘He didn’t really touch the gravel. It’s always deceptive from onboard, but that’s a cruel call there for Piastri,’ he said.

‘Normally if you’re breaching track limits there, you’re in the gravel.’