Piastri remains aware of Verstappen risk: 'Too early' to rule Red Bull star out in Austria

The Australian lines up in third place for the Austrian Grand Prix and has looked slower than his teammate so far this weekend.

Norris took pole in qualifying and topped the timesheets in both FP2 and FP3. The Brit's qualifying lap was over five tenths faster than second-placed Leclerc's, although the end of qualifying was momentarily interrupted by Pierre Gasly's late spin.

The championship leader, who sits on 198 points, is hoping to move forward in the race and battle his teammate for the race victory. Norris sits 22 points behind and will take confidence from his Spielberg weekend so far.

"I think through all of qualifying, I was missing that last tenth," Piastri explained after the session.

George Russell won from third place on the grid last season, a feat Piastri will be hoping to repeat in 2025, although the circumstances will doubtlessly be different.

The Australian still feels happy with his McLaren, despite some teething problems throughout the early stages of the weekend.

"FP1 was a little bit of a messy start, but then I felt pretty good through the rest of practice. And qualifying again felt quite good. It's very difficult around here to get that perfect lap because there are a lot of corners that have gravel on the exit, and you’ve got to be pretty careful there," he explained.

Although reigning champion Verstappen starts down in seventh place, Piastri remains wary of the Dutchman's race pace and expects him to move forward come lights out.