How Did Lando Norris Secure Victory at the Austrian GP?

Spielberg, June 29 (NationPress) Lando Norris has returned to his winning ways at the Austrian Grand Prix, triumphing in an exhilarating duel against his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen faced an early exit due to a first-lap incident involving Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes.

Starting from pole position, Norris maintained his lead into Turn 1 but soon found himself under intense pressure from championship frontrunner Piastri. The Australian driver managed to briefly seize the lead during a nail-biting exchange, but Norris quickly regained his position to clinch victory.

After a tense moment during braking at Turn 4, where Piastri nearly collided with Norris, the Australian opted to extend his initial stint on tyres, hoping to create a strategic advantage for the remainder of the race.

Despite Piastri showing impressive speed during the second and third stints, Norris preserved just enough pace to stay ahead and ultimately take the chequered flag—marking his third win of the season and his first since last month's Monaco Grand Prix.

In the absence of team principal Fred Vasseur, who had to leave for personal matters before the race, the upgraded Ferraris delivered solid performances, with Charles Leclerc securing a podium finish and Lewis Hamilton taking fourth place.

George Russell was the only Mercedes driver to finish in fifth place, while rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli dramatically collided with Max Verstappen during braking for Turn 3 on the opening lap, taking both drivers out of the race.

Liam Lawson took advantage of his top-six starting position, finishing in the same spot, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Kick Sauber’s Bortoleto, who achieved his first F1 points after an intense battle with the two-time World Champion.

A remarkable recovery from the back of the grid led to a third consecutive points finish for Nico Hulkenberg, bringing Sauber a double points reward, while Esteban Ocon completed the top ten for Haas.

Ollie Bearman finished in 11th position, followed by Isack Hadjar in 12th with Pierre Gasly sliding from points contention to 13th due to severe balance issues in his Alpine car.

Lance Stroll, who had shown promising pace in practice, could not replicate that performance in qualifying or the race. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) were the last drivers to finish.

Colapinto narrowly avoided contact with Piastri in the race's closing stages while being lapped, earning him a five-second penalty that did not affect his position. Tsunoda received a 10-second penalty for an earlier incident involving Colapinto.

Both Verstappen and Antonelli were sidelined, along with Williams drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, the latter of whom was unable to start due to grid issues.