McLaren confirm immediate Oscar Piastri apology after Lando Norris near-miss

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella confirmed that Oscar Piastri immediately apologised for his Turn 4 overtaking attempt on Lando Norris in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Piastri started in third but quickly found himself behind his team-mate after overtaking Charles Leclerc, triggering a fight for the lead which lasted the entire first stint at the Red Bull Rung.

The championship leader made several attempts at overtaking Norris, but only briefly got his nose in front. For the majority of the time, he sat behind the Briton, before going too far. 

On lap 20, Piastri went for a late dive on Norris at Turn 4, but quickly had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. It resulted in a huge lock-up for the Australian, flat spotting his tyres. 

McLaren informed him that the move went over the line, with Stella confirming after the race that Piastri's overtaking attempt was "a little too far". 

However, the Woking-based outfit's boss revealed that an apology to the team and Norris was immediately handed out by Piastri after crossing the chequered flag. 

"Well, it was intense racing, but that's what we are here for," Stella told Sky F1. "And it was open racing today, and here in Austria, it's a special track in which when you get the DRS, you stay hooked to the car ahead. 

"And this is what happened in the first stint, because the pace between Lando and Oscar was very similar, so they stayed together. And at the end of the stint, Oscar actually had a couple of chances. 

"There was also another one in the middle of the stint. But we are very happy, very proud of how they handled the situation. We needed to give Oscar a bit of advice in terms of the manoeuvre in Turn 4, which he actually acknowledged. 

"And I'm once again proud of him for how he said straight after the chequered flag that he was sorry for that manoeuvre. He went a little too far. It's not easy, it's Formula 1, it's racing, it's racing hard, but it's a good day."