‘I’m not planning on finishing third!’ – Piastri hopeful of victory push after yellow flags hamper Q3 efforts

Oscar Piastri believes he missed out on a comfortable front-row grid slot during Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix after being forced to abandon his final Q3 lap due to yellow flags.

Piastri was one of two drivers, along with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, affected by the caution when Pierre Gasly lost control of his Alpine at the last corner and spun on the start/finish straight.

While team mate Lando Norris managed to get a second lap in and ultimately finished half a second clear of Charles Leclerc, having dominated Qualifying up to that point, Piastri could place no higher than third.

Piastri admitted after the session that beating Norris to pole position would have been unlikely, given the Briton’s impressive form so far this weekend, but feels a 1-2 result was on the cards for McLaren until the yellow flags.

Asked about looking disappointed when he stepped out of the car, Piastri said: “It was the fact that I didn’t get to start it, that was the problem. I had Gasly spin at the last corner, so I didn’t even open my second lap.

“Lando’s been very quick all weekend, so it would have been a tough challenge [to beat him], but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row.

“It’s always a shame when you don’t even get the chance, but we can still have a good race from there. Sometimes it’s just not your day.”

Pushed on whether he feels there is a strong opportunity to move forward during the race, with overtaking spots aplenty at the Red Bull Ring, Piastri replied: “Yeah, definitely. I think our pace this weekend has looked very strong.

“I think the Ferrari pace looked good as well, which was a bit of a surprise, but I think we’ve still got some opportunities tomorrow. I’m not planning on finishing third, that’s for sure!”

Piastri will start the race at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings, 22 points clear of Norris and a further 21 points up on Verstappen, who starts back in seventh position.