Piastri admits fight with Norris was a ‘bit on the edge’

The championship leader pushed Norris hard throughout the race at the Red Bull Ring, briefly taking the lead at Turn 3 in the opening stint before Norris immediately reclaimed it.

Piastri stayed glued to his teammate’s rear wing for much of the Grand Prix, running within DRS range for nearly 20 laps before a mid-race lock-up at Turn 4 nearly sent him into the back of Norris.

The Melbourne driver suffered a flat spot after the incident, with race engineer Tom Stallard later telling him, “The pit wall has decided that manoeuvre was too marginal. We can’t do that again.”

Piastri admitted after the race that he may have pushed the limits too far in the battle.

“I tried my absolute best,” he said. “I probably could have done a better job when I just got ahead momentarily. But it was a good battle.

“It was a bit on the edge at times, and I probably pushed the limits a bit far. But it was a good race, and that’s what we’re here to do, to try and race each other and then try and fight for wins.

“That’s what we did today. It was close for me, but not quite enough.”

The 23-year-old was also quick to highlight the strength of the car, particularly after a compromised qualifying session, which was affected by a yellow flag and cost him a potential front-row start.

“I think qualifying yesterday was unfortunate with the yellow flag, and then I felt like the pace over the weekend has been good,” Piastri said. “I think once I could stay in the DRS I felt pretty good.

“Afterwards, once I dropped out after the first stop, it was tough to make the progress to get back, but yeah, some things to go over see if I could have done anything.”

Piastri ultimately crossed the line 2.6 seconds behind Norris, unable to close the gap in the final stint.

He was also nearly taken out by the Alpine of Franco Colapinto after his second stop, with the Argentinian forcing him onto the grass on the exit of Turn 3 while battling Yuki Tsunoda.

Colapinto later admitted over team radio that he hadn’t seen Piastri and was handed a five-second penalty after the race for the incident.

Despite finishing second, Piastri retains his lead in the Drivers’ Championship, holding a 15-point margin over Norris heading into Silverstone for the British Grand Prix next weekend.