Oscar Piastri warned ‘luck will run out’ as Marko finds a bullet dodged

Oscar Piastri dodged a major bullet by withstanding a hit from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris last time out in Canada.

That is the claim made by Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko, but as the McLaren duo return to racing action in Austria for the first time since that incident, Marko warns that for Piastri, his “luck will run out” eventually if the McLarens come to blows again.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris: Fireworks ahead?

McLaren has emerged as the leading force in F1 2025, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seemingly the only driver in with a genuine chance of stopping a straight fight between the McLaren pair for Drivers’ Championship glory.

With little separating Piastri and Norris, McLaren was prepared for the moment when its drivers collided.

That came in Canada, as Norris – attacking Piastri for fourth – hit Piastri’s rear wheel, sending the Brit into the wall and retirement.

Piastri carried on and secured fourth as the race finished behind the Safety Car.

Any tension was swiftly diffused by Norris accepting full responsibility for the incident, but Austria is the first test of how the McLaren drivers come out the other side of that Canada crash.

Marko, when speaking with OE24, noted that McLaren “should sort it out among themselves with their papaya rules” of engagement, but warned Piastri any future such incidents will likely bring a different outcome.

Norris launches from pole in Austria after a dominant qualifying display, while Piastri is third on the grid, split by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Put to him that he had said Norris was the ‘wrong guy’ in Canada, Marko added: “I said that in a collision like that, the rear tyre [of Piastri] would have to be broken. But Piastri was lucky that he was able to continue.

“Just like in practice, when he touched the wall. But at some point his luck will run out too.”

Latest F1 2025 head-to-head standings from PlanetF1.com

? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Max Verstappen is Red Bull’s leading senior team driver, in only seventh on the grid after his final Q3 run wrecked by the yellow flags after Pierre Gasly spun at the final corner, an incident that also saw Piastri lose out.

“I think through all of qualifying, I was missing that last tenth, but not getting the chance to do my final Q3 run was quite frustrating,” Piastri said.

“Sometimes those things are going to happen. I was quite happy that I didn’t lose more spots by not doing that. So, third’s still an okay place to start around here.

“You can race around this track, so try and make some progress.”

Piastri goes into the race with a lead of 22 points over Norris in the Drivers’ Championship.

Read next: Max Verstappen ‘annoyed’ as George Russell bombshell triggers Horner response