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Lando Norris has claimed a commanding victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, leading home a dominant McLaren one-two ahead of teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri. The race at the Red Bull Ring was packed with drama from before the lights even went out, including a spectacular first-lap crash that saw Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli eliminated. Charles Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari after a controlled drive to third.
In the scorching Styrian heat, McLaren proved to be in a class of their own. After securing pole position, Lando Norris controlled the race from the front, but he was kept honest by his teammate Oscar Piastri throughout. The duo were given the freedom to race, and they delivered a thrilling spectacle. The most intense moment came on lap 11, where Piastri briefly snatched the lead, only for Norris to execute a perfect switchback to reclaim the position. They went side-by-side through several corners in a display of hard but fair racing that had the McLaren pit wall holding its breath.
Strategy was key, with Norris pitting first and Piastri extending his opening stint to create a tyre delta. A late flat-spot for Piastri and a tricky moment navigating backmarkers hindered his charge, though he did set the fastest lap of the race in his pursuit. Despite a warning about front wing damage, Norris managed the gap perfectly to take his third win of the season, closing the championship gap to Piastri to just 15 points.
The race was turned on its head just moments after the start. As the pack concertinaed into the tight Turn 3, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli locked up heavily on the inside, sliding helplessly into the side of Max Verstappen. Both cars were spun into the gravel, bringing a premature and shocking end to their races. For Red Bull, it was a disastrous result at their home Grand Prix, all but ending Verstappen's slim championship hopes. The incident, which will be investigated post-race, immediately brought out the Safety Car.
Even before the main event began, drama unfolded on the grid. As the cars set off for the formation lap, Carlos Sainz's Williams remained stationary, stuck in gear. This forced an aborted start and an extra formation lap. While the team managed to get the car restarted, Sainz was required to start from the pit lane. However, his race was over before it began, as his brakes caught fire at the pit exit, forcing a DNS. The misery for the Grove-based team was compounded on lap 17 when Alexander Albon was also forced to retire due to a car issue, marking a double DNF for the team.
Behind the dominant McLarens, Charles Leclerc drove a lonely but effective race to secure P3. The result suggests Ferrari's new floor upgrade is a step in the right direction, with Lewis Hamilton matching his best finish of the year in fourth after a frantic start where he battled with former teammate George Russell. Russell ultimately came home in fifth for Mercedes.
The midfield battle was a story of divergent strategies. Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso masterfully nursed their tyres to make a one-stop strategy work, finishing an impressive P6 and P7 for Racing Bulls and Aston Martin respectively. The fight was fierce until the very end, with the lapped Alonso defending brilliantly from a charging Gabriel Bortoleto on the final laps.
The drive of the day arguably went to Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto, who secured his first-ever Formula 1 points with a fantastic P8 finish and was voted Driver of the Day by the fans. His teammate Nico Hulkenberg fought from last on the grid to finish P9, securing a brilliant double-points finish for the Swiss team. Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten for Haas.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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