Lando Norris resisted pressure from Oscar Piastri to F1 win in Austrian GP, as Charles Leclerc was a distant third.
The start to F1 Austrian GP at Red Bull Ring was aborted after Williams’ Carlos Sainz stalled on the grid. Just when others came around, the Spaniard got going but he pitted immediately. His rear brakes caught fire as he was towed into the garage to retire. The grand prix start was delayed by 10 minutes.
Once it got going, McLaren’s Lando Norris took the F1 Austrian GP lead from teammate Oscar Piastri, who cleared Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at Turn 1. Teammate Lewis Hamilton lost to Mercedes’ George Russell at Turn 1, but the former regained the place by the end of the lap.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly jumped up to sixth from another jumper Williams’ Alexander Albon, as Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto maintained eighth from dropper Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso rounded the Top 10 as the safety car was deployed due to an incident at Turn 4.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli came from far off at Turn 4 but lost control to hit Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The two retired with the move to be investigated after the race. The incident caught out Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar, who dropped back to pit early.
The re-start worked well for Norris to continue in the lead from Piastri, as the two created a buffer to Leclerc. His teammate Hamilton had Russell hurrying him but the Brit maintained his position. Albon passed Gasly for sixth, as Haas’ Esteban Ocon started to gain outside the Top 10.
It came undone for Albon, who retired with a suspected issue. At the front, Norris came under pressure from Piastri, who made the move on the Brit. But the former came back on him soon to retake the F1 Austrian GP lead. The latter continued to pester his teammate, who made a small mistake at Turn 9-10.
There was another moment but Norris pitted on Lap 20. Piastri, however, decided to extend and go until Lap 25 to chase his teammate on a fresher tyre. Both Leclerc and Hamilton led briefly before pitting. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda was fighting to get through into the points.
He had a touch against Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at Turn 4 before his pit stop. He then had one against Alpine’s Franco Colapinto where he spun the Argentine around at Turn 6. The Japanese driver pitted for a front wing change, as he was handed a 10s time penalty for causing a collision.
At the front, Norris maintained F1 Austrian GP lead from Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton and Russell in the Top 5. With Gasly struggling, Bortoleto moved up to sixth, with Hulkenberg up to seventh after an early stop midway in the race. Ocon was eighth from Bearman after they managed to clear Gasly, who was 10th.
The Frenchman noted that the car was undividable as he requested team to check for a potential issue. The late stops for Lawson and Alonso dropped them to 11th and 12th, in the chase for Top 10. It was steady from the midway point, when the second stops started for most of the drivers.
Norris pitted before Piastri and kept the lead. The Australian had a hairy moment while clearing a fighting duo of Tsunoda and Colapinto at Turn 4. The Argentine passed the Japanese driver but went wide, which allowed the Red Bull driver to get back on him.
Unsighted or not, Colapinto put Piastri on the grass, with the move under investigation. The Alpine driver eventually got through Tsunoda, but was handed a 5s time penalty. At Ferrari, Hamilton wanted to try for one-stop, but was asked to pit anyhow, as they maintained third and fourth as they were.
Piastri started to close in on Norris towards the end where backmarkers played a small role. It wasn’t because of them that the Australian lost, as the Brit took a gritty F1 win in Austrian GP to keep his title hopes alive. It was a McLaren 1-2 in the end, with Leclerc too far behind in third.
Hamilton was fourth from Russell, as Lawson did a fine job in sixth from Alonso, who managed to hold off Bortoleto. The Brazilian passed the Spaniard at Turn 4 but the Aston Martin driver retook it to maintain it until the end. Both Lawson and Alonso did the one stop to gain places.
Bortoleto scored his first points in eighth as Hulkenberg made it double points from last on the grid. Ocon rounded out the Top 10 after starting from behind as well, with teammate Bearman just outside in 11th. Hadjar had to be content with 12th from Gasly, Stroll, Colapinto and Tsunoda.
Everyone from Alonso onward finished a lap down to the leaders, while Tsunoda was two laps down.
UPDATE: Antonelli was adjudged wholly responsible for the Lap 1 incident with Verstappen. As a result, the Italian was handed 3-place grid drop for next weekend’s British GP. The stewards acknowledged variabilities in the incident and mistake, but felt time penalty was needed but since he did not finish, it was converted to grid drop.
He also got two penalty points. Here: https://x.com/fia/status/1939349313651400857