Austrian GP: Lando Norris leads McLaren domination, Ferrari snaps redemption

The Austrian Grand Prix turned into a thrilling affair, packed with high drama from start to finish. McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed a confident win at the Red Bull Ring, followed by teammate Oscar Piastri in second. Ferrari bounced back as Charles Leclerc completed the podium, while Red Bull endured a nightmare on home soil.

Chaos unfolded even before the race began. During the formation lap, Carlos Sainz’s Williams stalled and had to be wheeled back to the pit lane. Moments later, smoke began to emerge from the car, quickly turning into flames. Sainz was forced to retire before the lights even went out. The start was delayed by ten minutes, and one lap was deducted from the race distance.

The race officially began with 19 drivers on the grid. McLaren had a clean getaway, with Norris taking the lead and Piastri right behind after overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

But by Turn 3, the home crowd was left stunned as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was forced to retire following a collision with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli locked his brakes and crashed into Verstappen, ending the Dutchman’s race within seconds.

On Lap 4 at Turn 4, former Mercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel, with Russell accusing Hamilton over team radio of “closing the door under braking” to defend his fourth position.

By Lap 5, DRS was enabled, and the gap between the two McLaren drivers was just half a second, raising fears of another clash like in Canada. At Turn 3 on Lap 11, Piastri briefly snatched the lead, only for Norris to reclaim it at Turn 4.

Ferrari teammates also engaged in a close contest, but Leclerc held his position ahead of Hamilton through the middle stint. Around Lap 20, another near-miss between the McLaren cars prompted Norris to pit. Meanwhile, Piastri was warned by his engineer over a risky manoeuvre at Turn 4, which was described as “too marginal.”

Red Bull’s misery didn’t end with Verstappen. On Lap 31, Yuki Tsunoda made contact with Franco Colapinto, forcing an early pit stop and earning a 10-second penalty.

On Lap 54, Colapinto pushed Piastri off the track while trying to take the slipstream from a Red Bull, sending the McLaren onto the grass in a dangerous moment that nearly ended the Australian’s race.

Despite the drama, the McLaren drivers continued to dominate the front. Norris ultimately held on to take the win, with Piastri securing second place for a commanding 1-2 finish.

Sauber had reason to celebrate as well, scoring their first points of the season with an 8th-place finish. Racing Bulls enjoyed a solid outing too — Liam Lawson finished 6th, while teammate Isack Hadjar came home in 12th.

Williams, however, had a weekend to forget. Sainz was out before the race even began, and Alexander Albon retired early — resulting in a double DNF for the team.

Austria GP - Top 10 finshers

1. Lando Norris – McLaren
2. Oscar Piastri – McLaren
3. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
5. George Russell – Mercedes
6. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls
7. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
8. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber
9. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber
10. Esteban Ocon – Haas