Oscar Piastri lashes out at Alpine during the Austrian Grand Prix: the team radio leaves little room for interpretation
McLaren dominated the race at the Red Bull Ring. Despite having a huge advantage over their rivals, several tense moments unfolded across the 70 laps. The first flashpoint came during a close fight between Oscar and Lando, which nearly ended in contact and sent shockwaves through the McLaren pit wall. The second incident involved a team radio from Oscar Piastri during a tense moment as he lapped an Alpine.
The Australian was chasing down his teammate during the final stint of the race. Lapped traffic played a key role at that stage—finding a slower car on the straights was crucial to gain DRS and close the gap. As Oscar was about to pass Franco Colapinto, the Argentine unintentionally forced him onto the grass, resulting in a significant loss of time.
The comment that wasn’t broadcast
Oscar Piastri made a pointed team radio comment directed at Alpine and their past dealings. Many will remember that the French team had announced Oscar Piastri as Fernando Alonso’s replacement, but the driver had never agreed to the deal. As a result, Oscar joined McLaren in 2023 for his debut Formula 1 season.
His mid-race comment directly referenced that controversy. “Alpine still finding ways to screw me over after all these years,” the driver said, using slightly more explicit language. It was clearly an emotional outburst triggered by the intensity of the race, but one that didn’t go unnoticed.
In hindsight, leaving the team where he served as a reserve driver was the right move. Oscar Piastri now finds himself lapping the very car he was once expected to drive. However, it should be noted that Colapinto received a 5-second penalty and apologized, stating he hadn’t seen the car behind him.
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