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Formula OneLando Norris answered his critics after his Canada crash with a well-deserved Austrian GP win that was one of his best victories to date. In a race that effectively ended Max Verstappen's title hopes, Norris only had to fend off teammate Oscar Piastri. The two McLaren drivers battled hard, with Norris taking the upper hand in an enthralling fight that kicked off this year's Austrian event.
Fans had to wait for the wheel-to-wheel scrapping, though. An issue for Carlos Sainz on the grid that ultimately led to his retirement forced a delayed start and a second formation lap. It won't be much comfort for the Spaniard, who had his worst weekend of the year, but he wasn't the only high-profile name out of the race early.
Max Verstappen had his first DNF from a collision since the infamous 2021 Italian GP that had his car on top of Lewis Hamilton's. As with that race, another Mercedes was involved in the incident as Andrea Kimi Antonelli had his first major rookie error. The Italian teenager, fresh from his school exams, tried to avoid Liam Lawson entering Turn 3 and locked up his front right Pirelli tyre. He slid straight into the side of the cornering Verstappen, ending both their races before a single racing lap concluded.
The resulting Safety Car locked Piastri in P2. Starting from P3 on the grid, Charles Leclerc's strong launch saw him almost alongside polesitter Norris, who had to chop across to defend from the Ferrari. Leclerc's compromised Turn 1 entry allowed Piastri to sweep by around the outside of the right-hander to begin his hunt for Norris before the Safety Car slowdown.
Another crucial pass came on that opening lap, too. George Russell, who managed to beat his old teammate Hamilton into Turn 1, went wheel-to-wheel with the seven-time champion on the downhill run to Turn 4. The duo continued their fight into Turn 5, with Hamilton taking the outside line around the sweeping left-hand corner. Hamilton's Ferrari just did enough to force Russell to back off into Turn 6 and secure P4 behind teammate Leclerc.
It was the McLaren teammates stealing all the screentime at the front, though. Piastri and Norris' superior pace allowed them to extend the gap to the chasing pack, despite repeatedly duelling on their yellow-walled Medium Pirelli tyres during the first stint. Piastri, with the benefit of DRS, looked the quicker driver and continued probing Norris into the Turn 3 and Turn 4 braking zones.
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The closest the Australian got to passing was a move up the inside of the uphill T3 hairpin that had him ahead on the downhill run to T4. Norris, however, used the up-and-under switchback to get a better exit and take the inside line to regain the lead in smart racing. Despite their close racing, McLaren allowed their two drivers to race, and it was almost to their detriment. Piastri's lock-up in the downhill braking zone had his front wing millimetres from Norris' rear as the tyre life faded in a heart-in-mouth moment for the team.
Subsequent pit stops had Norris boxing first for the Hard tyre. The extra performance of the fresh Pirelli rubber allowed him to open a gap to Piastri, who stopped four laps later. That offset prevented any further attack from Piastri, who couldn't close the gap quickly enough without DRS as backmarker traffic began to be a problem at one of F1's shortest tracks.
Franco Colapinto was the primary slowdown for both McLaren drivers. The Argentinian driver had a tricky race battling with the remaining Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda had spun his Alpine around at the Turn 4 exit, earning a 10-second penalty. Colapinto soon joined the Japanese driver on the penalty list, though. After losing Norris a second by entering the pit lane at an inopportune time, he almost ended Piastri's race. Still fighting with Tsunoda, the two had to let Piastri pass to lap them. Seemingly unaware of Piastri's presence on the second DRS straight, Colapinto ran Piastri completely onto the grass before moving aside, earning a five-second penalty for the confusion.
More backmarker battling also affected any chance of a late McLaren fight. Gabriel Bortoleto scored his first F1 points in a resurgent race for Sauber. He had to allow Norris through while trying to pass his manager, Fernando Alonso, for P7 in the closing laps. F1's most experienced driver wasn't going to be bested by a young rookie, though, and used intelligent driving to pick up Norris' DRS to secure a third consecutive points finish.
The Alonso-Bortoleto pair separated Norris from Piastri at the flag, with Norris' win closing the championship gap to 14 points. Verstappen's first DNF of the year sees the reigning champ 61 points adrift as we head to the halfway point of the season. It's Silverstone next, and the British crowds could be in for a weekend to remember if Norris can perform at this level in front of his home fans.
