A return to the points will have to wait at least another week for Oscar Piastri after a 16th place finish rounded out a somewhat frustrating weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix for the McLaren rookie.  

The Victorian entered the weekend on the back foot after his teammate Lando Norris had received the highly anticipated upgrades to the MCL60 for the sprint weekend.  

The difference was apparent throughout, with Norris almost a second faster than Piastri in qualifying on Friday, admittedly with the assistance of a deleted lap that would have seen the Australian reach Q3 – but instead having to settle for 13th.  

The results didn’t get any better in the sprint qualifying on Saturday, but he was regarded as one of the drivers of the day after starting from 17th and working his way to 11th in the sprint race later in the afternoon. 

With a third career points finish in sight, Piastri was unable to get the start he wanted in the main race, dropping down to as low as 16th as a result.  

Some early incidents and pitstops elsewhere promoted him back up to 13th, pressuring Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in the midst of a DRS train before the virtual safety car was deployed when Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas pulled over on the side of the track on lap 20.  

The restart couldn’t have been much worse for Piastri as damage to his front wing on lap 24 forced an unplanned pitstop after running into the back of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas while the Dane was slowed while battling for positions ahead.  

Demoted all the way to the rear of the 19 classified drivers, Piastri was unable to find the pace to make his way past the likes of Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Nick De Vries, holding the position for the remainder of the race.  

While the race itself might not have been a positive one for the 2021 Formula 2 Champion, Piastri was later rewarded for his clean racing and his ability to stay within track limits by being promoted into 16th after driver penalties were handed out post-race.  

Two-time World Champion Max Verstappen went on to dominate the weekend's action, picking up a dominant sprint race victory before an impressive Grand Prix win overnight over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez.  

There were plenty of other Aussies in action at the Red Bull Ring throughout the weekend, including Jack Doohan in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.  

After qualifying in fifth place, the Alpine Academy driver was able to work his way back up to seventh in the reverse grid race format on Saturday, falling just short of MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger in sixth.  

A brilliant start in the feature race saw Doohan move up into the podium positions at race start, enduring an exciting battle for third before the first round of pitstops occurred.  

Finding his way back into fourth, a safety car was deployed on lap 28 of 40 when Arthur Leclerc’s rear left tyre flew off his car in dramatic fashion.  

Doohan was promoted up into second place in the dying stages of the race and was involved in a thrilling battle for podium positions, but it unfortunately resulted in the Australian missing out on the podium and having to settle for fourth after not having enough traction to hold off the charge of his nearest competitors.  

Another impressive Aussie last weekend was Christian Mansell, who achieved his best FIA Formula 3 Championship result with seventh. 

The Campos Racing driver looked good all weekend long, running in the top 10 places in the reverse grid race before dropping to 14th place by race end.  

Despite dropping late in the race, Mansell eyed a better Sunday and that’s exactly what he got.

Starting in 10th, he made a bold move into ninth early in the race before taking advantage of some incidents up ahead to move even closer to the front.  

An Intriguing battle played out between the top 10 drivers, where Mansell was momentarily squeezed out before working his way back up to cross the line in a season-best seventh place ahead of fellow Aussie Hugh Barter in eighth.  

Tommy Smith was unable to crack the top 10 this time out, settling for 18th place.  

The fifth and final Australian to feature at the Austrian Grand Prix weekend was Harri Jones in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.  


The Queenslander didn’t have a weekend to remember though, qualifying in 17th place for Sunday's race before only making it to lap three before disaster struck and he was out of the race.  

Despite the disappointing result, Jones gained plenty of experience on one of the world's most popular circuits and will look ahead to the next round at Silverstone.

The Formula 1, 2 and 3 World Championships as well as the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will return next weekend as the famous Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit hosts the 11th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.