With an early retirement of Max Verstappen and a dominant car from McLaren, the Austrian Grand Prix threatened to become boring. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri made it interesting with an internal battle.
Both McLaren drivers were aware after the race that they had provided most of the excitement in Austria. “Hopefully it was fun to watch,” said Norris, with Piastri echoing similar sentiments. “It was an entertaining race for me.”
Also for Norris himself, who ultimately snatched seven points from his teammate’s lead, it was an exciting afternoon. “I looked in my mirrors a lot. Especially in the opening phase. It was a good internal battle with Oscar, although it wasn’t that comfortable at the same time,” laughed the eventual winner.
Norris had to drive at a higher pace than he had planned with his urging teammate. “I knew when I had to make my first pit stop, but in the beginning it seemed like I was never going to make it. Fortunately, we had little threat from behind,” he pointed out the lead over Ferrari.
Piastri was warned by McLaren
Piastri admitted that he went too far a few times in his attempts to overtake Norris. “Especially in turn 4, when I almost knocked him off with locking tires,” the Australian was contrite. McLaren found it necessary to tell the WK leader that it was going too far.
“Rightly so, but I could figure that out myself. I wouldn’t do that again,” Piastri responded. “At the same time, you push to the limit. It’s about winning a Formula 1 race.”
“I don’t think Andrea (Stella, ed.) had to sweat much on the pit wall,” said Norris. “Oscar and I know what to expect from each other. We race hard, but *fair*. And we left that clash in Montreal two weeks ago behind us. Nice that we immediately had a duel again.”
Norris ultimately held his ground in it, also because Piastri with his side of the team decided on a different approach. While Norris dived in for his first tire change, the Australian drove on for a few more laps.
“I knew that I would stop second every time, and you always lose some time with that,” Piastri explained the choice. “So I was hoping to have a tire advantage at the end of the stint with a late stop. That didn’t work out in the end, but that’s in hindsight.”
While Piastri was able to easily connect in the opening phase due to the three DRS zones of the Red Bull Ring, he then did not come within a second of Norris. “That’s exactly what I wanted to avoid, a race that you’re just outside DRS for laps.”
‘Do a lot more work’
But despite an urging teammate, Norris held his own in the final phase for his third victory in 2025. It is the result of hard work, according to the Brit after an impressive weekend. “I do a lot more than I used to, in the factory on the simulator. Nice that it pays off. I really try to improve myself, because it never comes easy.”
That also includes instructions from the team, also about what he should do in certain corners. In the final phase, Norris even asked for help with the approaching Piastri behind him, an unusual request from a driver.
“There’s nothing wrong with asking for some guidance and help,” said Norris. “The guys in the pit box have all the data in front of them, they see exactly what everyone is doing. Why wouldn’t I use that? I just accept that.”