Lando Norris holds off Oscar Piastri to win Formula 1's Austrian Grand Prix

The Hindu

18 hours ago

In the week when the 'F1' movie hit theaters, Formula 1 delivered some real-life cinematic moments of its own.
Teammates fought for the lead and came close to colliding as Lando Norris held off a race-long challenge from his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday (June 29) and lift his title hopes.
Norris and Piastri battled for the lead early on, with the Australian briefly into the lead before Norris took the position back. A rash lunge by Piastri nearly caused a collision soon after.
Piastri lost ground at the pit stops and was run wide onto the grass by Alpine's Franco Colapinto while cutting through traffic. He soon made up ground on Norris but couldn't get close enough to try another overtake.
Over the radio, Norris called it a 'beautiful one-two' finish for the team. 'We had a great battle, that's for sure,' he added later. "A lot of stress, but a lot of fun. A nice battle, so well done to Oscar."
They next head to Norris' home race on July 6 in Britain, the halfway point of the season.
More than ever this season, the title fight focuses on the two McLarens after defending champion Max Verstappen was hit by Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap, ending his race.
Overall leader Piastri leads second-placed Norris by 15 points, with Verstappen still third but now 61 points off the lead. He told broadcaster Sky Sports after the race that he hoped the incident would at least mean fewer questions about his title chances.
Two weeks after Norris apologised to McLaren for colliding with Piastri in Canada, it was Piastri's turn to say sorry to the team for a near-collision between the two drivers on Sunday. The Australian also said he regretted not making more of his few seconds in the lead earlier in the race.
'I hope it was good watching because it was pretty hard work from the car,' Piastri said. 'I tried my absolute best and probably could have done a better job when I just got ahead momentarily."
Piastri added later that he was 'probably pushing the limits a bit much from my side once or twice but we're fighting for race wins in Formula 1. It's going to be pretty tough."
Charles Leclerc was third for his third podium finish in four races, with his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton fourth.
George Russell, who won the last race in Canada, was fifth for Mercedes and Liam Lawson sixth for Racing Bulls in his best result of the season.
Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin held off Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto for seventh in a late-race battle between two drivers who know each other well off track. Two-time champion Alonso has guided the Brazilian's career through his management company.
Bortoleto was able to celebrate his first points finish in his rookie season, leaving Colapinto and the driver he replaced at Alpine, Jack Doohan, as the only competitors without any points in 2025.
The second Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg was ninth and Esteban Ocon finished 10th for Haas.