Lando Norris claimed a crucial victory at the Austrian Grand Prix after overcoming teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri in a thrilling on-track duel.
Lando Norris claimed a crucial victory at the Austrian Grand Prix after overcoming teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri in a thrilling on-track duel.
Norris held Piastri at bay in a 20-lap duel in the opening stint of the race and then weathered late pressure to claim his third win of the season.
It came two weeks on from his collision with Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix and cut the Australian’s title lead from 22 to 15 points.
« Well done everyone, beautiful one-two », Norris said on the radio after taking the checkered flag. He added in his postrace interview: « We had a great battle, that’s for sure. It was a lot of fun. For me, a lot of stress! But a nice battle.
« Well done to Oscar. Hopefully it was a nice one for everyone to watch. But it was tough, especially when he was in the DRS. »
Reigning champion Max Verstappen’s already slim title hopes took a potentially decisive blow when he was speared off the road by Kimi Antonelli on Lap 1, although McLaren was in a class of its own all weekend.
