Two weeks after his clumsy retirement in Canada, Lando Norris redeemed himself on Sunday afternoon in Austria. The British McLaren driver was flagged as the winner at the Red Bull Ring, ahead of his teammate and World Championship leader Oscar Piastri. For Max Verstappen, the home race of his team only lasted three corners. He was torpedoed by Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and had to retire.
Here is a brief overview of the Austrian Grand Prix:
FORMATION LAP: Carlos Sainz fails to get off the mark, delaying the start. Shortly after, Sainz’s Williams finally moves, but his brakes catch fire. Back in the pitlane, the fire is extinguished, but it’s the end of the race for the Spaniard. The race is shortened from 71 to 70 laps.
LAP 1/70: Max Verstappen, starting from P7, has a good start and gains a position in the first few meters at the expense of Liam Lawson. Two corners later, it’s all over. Kimi Antonelli locks up, goes straight on, and torpedoes Verstappen. Both drivers are immediately out of the race. Safety car!
LAP 3/70: Lando Norris gets on the gas very early at the restart of the race, ahead of Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell. It appears as if Norris shot away while the track was still under yellow flag conditions.
McLarens Pull Ahead
LAP 11/70: The McLarens immediately pull away from the rest of the field, thanks to their surplus of pure speed. Piastri immediately puts polesitter Norris under heavy pressure. Both are fiercely battling each other, with Norris emerging as the winner so far.
LAP 18/70: After Verstappen’s early exit, the second Red Bull also suffers damage. Yuki Tsunoda tries to outbrake Lance Stroll, but both cars collide. The result is damage to the front wing of the RB21. The stewards are investigating the incident.
LAP 21/70: Piastri tries to outbrake Norris, but the attack fails. Norris immediately dives into the pits for his first stop, which is relatively slow (3.1 seconds). Piastri is therefore the new race leader. He decides to continue for a while, despite the flat spot on the front right tire.
ROUND 24/70: Oscar Piastri comes in for his first pit stop, which, like Norris’s, is far from smooth. The Australian returns to the track more than three seconds behind Norris. He also receives a reprimand over the radio for his failed but risky attack on his teammate in lap 21.
Time Penalty for Yuki Tsunoda
ROUND 31/70: Tsunoda tries to outmaneuver Colapinto for P16, but the Argentine from Alpine gives him less room than desired. The result is a significant collision. Colapinto spins but can continue, while Tsunoda dives in for a new front wing. The Japanese driver receives a ten-second time penalty.
ROUND 41/70: Piastri is faster than Norris and gradually reduces his deficit lap by lap, but backmarkers and blue flags make the chase unpredictable. The gap is 3.0 seconds. Charles Leclerc is in P3, 14 seconds behind Piastri.
ROUND 53/70: Norris goes in for his second pit stop, and Piastri makes his second stop a lap later. He re-enters the track just behind Yuki Tsunoda and Colapinto. The latter forces Piastri onto the grass, causing him to lose a lot of time.
ROUND 70/70: Piastri manages to significantly close the gap to Norris in the final stages of the race, but it’s ultimately not enough. Norris is flagged as the winner. In the championship standings, the difference between the two McLaren drivers has been reduced to 15 points in Piastri’s favor. Tsunoda finishes in sixteenth and last place, completing Red Bull’s nightmare at the Red Bull Ring.
Top-10: Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lawson, Alonso, Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, Ocon.
