McLaren discover outcome of Piastri qualifying protest

Stewards' summary

The protest was found to be not valid, failing on three grounds:

• It was addressed to the Clerk of the Course and not to the Chairperson of the Stewards (Article 13.5.1 ISC)
• It did not specify any relevant regulations (Article 13.4.1 ISC)
• It did not specify against whom the protest was lodged (Article 13.4.1 ISC)

Therefore, "the protest does not meet several of the required criteria for the admissibility of a protest," according to the decisions document and was duly ruled inadmissible. The team also forfeited its €2,000 deposit for raising the protest.

McLaren has learned the verdict of its protest into the results of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Following the investigation the stewards decided to uphold the initial decision, which means Oscar Piastri's lap time will not be reinstated. Therefore, he will start Sunday's race in seventh-position.

The Woking team lodged the appeal after Piastri had his final push lap deleted at the Red Bull Ring, dropping him from third-fastest to seventh-place in the grid-setting session.

The Australian driver was alleged to have breached track limits at Turn 6, with Race Control removing his lap time from the board - a decision the 23-year-old called "embarrassing" when speaking after the session.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told media including RacingNews365 he had sought further clarity from the FIA before the protest was officially confirmed.

In the stewards' decision document, it read: "The Protest is rejected as it is inadmissible."