McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has conceded Max Verstappen’s single-lap advantage over the competition at Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix is a “reality check” for the rest.
Verstappen was imperious at the Red Bull Ring as he posted a blistering time in Q3 that provided him with a five-tenth margin over McLaren’s Lando Norris in second.
The Dutchman’s crushing dominance went against the recent form book as Red Bull had not bagged pole position across the last three rounds as the field converged.
That was even applied to the Austrian GP weekend as Norris wound up 0.093s behind in Sprint Qualifying and looked to be a match to Verstappen’s pace in the Sprint.
Piastri, who posted the third fastest time but was demoted to seventh over a track limits violation, has admitted that Verstappen’s gap shows Red Bull remains ahead.
“A little bit [shocked], yeah,” Piastri said. “His lap in Q2 was a bit of a reality check for everyone. And he could repeat it in Q3.
“The gap seemed to be a little bit bigger in that session for whatever reason and clearly they are still the force to beat.
“Max looked to be a step ahead of everyone then. But it seems very tight between us Mercedes and Ferrari, I would say.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was astounded to see how superior Red Bull was through the high-speed corners in comparison to his Mercedes as he ended up in sixth.
“We were down a lot in the high speed compared to Max, it’s insane how much faster they are in the high speed,” he said.
“I think they were 12-13kph faster which is a lot. I wouldn’t say I am surprised.
“We always seem to be quick in FP1 and practice and then everyone else gets faster and we don’t. That’s how it goes.”
However, McLaren boss Andrea Stella took the chance to commend Verstappen’s showing as he appreciated how consistent the reigning champion continues to be.
“Everyone is within a small lap time delta and depending on the conditions, on the track layout, one has a little bit of an edge compared to the other three,” he said.
“Certainly, there’s something that is pretty consistent: it’s just Max Verstappen. He always does a good job.”
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