Oscar Piastri shows true colours after being denied chance to fight Lando Norris for pole

Oscar Piastri was typically calm after a frustrating end to his qualifying efforts at the Austrian Grand Prix. He never got the chance to produced a lap good enough for pole as his final run was ruined by a late spin from Pierre Gasly.

The Frenchman's mishap brought out yellow flags which meant those behind him on track, including Piastri and a very disappointed Max Verstappen, were unable to open the DRS at the start of their final efforts. But Lando Norris was better placed on the circuit and dominated the race for pole position.

He took it by more than half-a-second over second-placed Charles Leclerc, as Ferrari also enjoyed a strong qualifying session. Piastri had to settle for third on the grid for Sunday's race in Spielberg but calmly said: "Sometimes it's just not your day.

"I had Gasly spin at the last corner and so I didn't even open my second lap. Lando has been very quick all weekend so that would have been a tough challenge.

Sign up to our free weekly F1 newsletter, Pit Lane Chronicle, by entering your email address below so that every new edition lands straight in your inbox!

"But I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row, so it's always a shame when you don't get the chance. But I can still have a good race from there."

Piastri leads the championship by 22 points over Norris and insists he still has a chance to extend that advantage, adding: "I'm disappointed to have not had that opportunity [to qualify on pole], but I think there will be opportunities tomorrow so I'll try to take them."

READ MORE: Why David Croft is absent from Austrian GP as Sky Sports F1 commentator replaced

READ MORE: Red Bull chief makes cutting George Russell remark as Mercedes chase Max Verstappen

Norris has not always delivered his full potential in qualifying this year, but there was never any indication that this was not going to be his day. He produced an impressive improvement on his final run which is what he was targeting and he did not even try to conceal a wide smile as he reflected on a fine performance

The Brit said: "It was a good lap, that's for sure. Little bit by little bit, my Q3 run one was good but I knew there was a few places that, if I just got it right, there was quite a bit more time and I did exactly that, so I did what I planned to do. So I'm very happy, it's been a good day and a good weekend so far.

"I'll savour this moment. Some of my tougher moments have been in qualifying, so to put in a lap like this one today and to have to performance I've had is pleasing. I want to keep proving it to myself over and over again and, hopefully, this is just the beginning of it."

Leclerc, who split the two McLarens in his upgraded Ferrari, said: "We brought some new parts this weekend which for sure made a difference. We know that we normally have a better car during the race than in qualifying so, hopefully, we can put a bit more pressure on the McLarens."