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Lando Norris has secured victories in Australia, Monaco, and Austria this year, each time converting pole position into a race win.
In a compelling contest at the Austrian Grand Prix, Lando Norris fended off a persistent challenge from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to clinch victory.
Norris’s third triumph of the season, leading a McLaren 1-2 finish, narrows the championship gap to Piastri to a mere 15 points as the series heads to the British Grand Prix next weekend.
McLaren demonstrated utter dominance throughout the race, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claiming the final podium spot 17 seconds adrift, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton a further nine seconds behind.
Mercedes’ George Russell secured fifth place, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen retired after contact with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap, leaving him 61 points behind in the championship standings.
Piastri mounted a strong challenge against Norris early on, overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the first corner after Leclerc had split the McLarens in qualifying.
Norris made errors at Turns Nine and 10 on lap 10, providing Piastri with an opportunity to attack on the subsequent lap.
Piastri briefly seized the lead at Turn Three, only for Norris to immediately reclaim it at the following corner.
Tension escalated when Piastri attempted a late dive down the inside at Turn Four on lap 20, locking his brakes and narrowly avoiding contact with the rear of Norris’s car.
Norris pitted at the end of that lap, with Piastri following three laps later. Norris appeared to maintain control through the middle stint.
However, after their final pit stops, conducted in quick succession with 17 and 16 laps remaining, Piastri began to close the gap once more.
Emerging from his stop four seconds behind, Piastri narrowed the deficit to within two seconds with 10 laps to go, prompting Norris to request increased pace from his engineer, Will Joseph, over the radio.
Piastri experienced a scare with six laps remaining when he was forced onto the grass on the straight between Turns Three and Four by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, but managed to continue, maintaining pressure on Norris. Colapinto received a five-second penalty for the incident.
Despite some damage to his front wing, Norris managed to stabilize the gap and secure a crucial victory, just two weeks after his Canadian Grand Prix ended prematurely due to contact with his teammate.
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Leclerc and Hamilton endured relatively uneventful races in third and fourth, though radio communication became tense for the seven-time champion when his request to extend his second stint was overruled by his engineer, who called him in regardless.
Russell also had a solitary run in fifth, while Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso executed a one-stop strategy, spending the majority of the race in close proximity to secure sixth and seventh respectively.
Alonso remained within a second of Lawson throughout their first stint and closed to the same margin after losing ground with a slightly later pit stop. Despite appearing quicker, Alonso was unable to get close enough to attempt a pass on the New Zealander.
In the final two laps, Alonso was caught by Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who was on a two-stop strategy, and briefly overtaken at Turn Three. However, the Spaniard used his experience to cut back and retake the position with DRS assistance into Turn Four.
Alonso was fortunate on the final lap as the McLarens lapped them, requiring Norris to be let through, which helped him maintain seventh ahead of Bortoleto, who secured his first Formula 1 points.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth, with Haas driver Esteban Ocon claiming the final point.
A difficult day for Red Bull on their home track was compounded by a challenging race for Yuki Tsunoda, who received a 10-second penalty for a collision with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and was classified last.
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 (Sauber)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
10. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
Drivers’ championship standings
Constructors’ championship standings
Oscar Piastri briefly passed Lando Norris in the first stint but the Briton was able to retake the lead on the same lap
Max Verstappen’s Red Bull is spun around after being hit by the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli on the first lap
Antonelli climbs out of his damaged Mercedes
Antonelli says he apologised to Verstappen for taking him out
Carlos Sainz wasn’t able to start the race after a mechanical problem with the Williams
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