McLaren protested qualifying results

The McLaren team lodged a protest against the results of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix due to the fact that Oscar Piastri’s best lap in the final was canceled.

Oscar set the third fastest time, but the stewards decided the Australian driver had breached track limits at turn six and called off his lap, dropping Piastri to seventh, but McLaren disagrees with this decision.

The head of the British team, Andrea Stella, explained that the decision to protest is due to the fact that the methodology for identifying such violations is questionable.

“We filed a protest, which was recognized, but not yet processed,” Andrea Stella told reporters on Saturday evening. “We want to continue the discussion on this topic.” Our approach to racing is that we don’t want to get what we don’t deserve.

If the fine is that high, filing a protest is not only in the interest of McLaren, but also in the interest of the sport. We have taken the next formal step and the ball is now in the FIA’s court.

We have asked for clarification. In particular, we want to examine the evidence that the car was off the road, and this is clearly visible and there is no doubt about it. I cannot say that we do not have such doubts now.

A number of principles must be observed. First, the system that detects when a vehicle leaves the road must have adequate resolution. Second, a methodology that applies to one machine must be applied to all machines.

If stewards use helicopter footage to determine the position of one car, they must use that footage for all cars.

Usually we support the FIA, but in this case we cannot agree that the car was undoubtedly off the track and that the methodology meets the two conditions I have already mentioned. So the discussion continues.”