The F1 Austrian Grand Prix turned out to be the McLaren show, with the pair of papaya-coloured cars running away from the field to score an easy 1-2 finish.
Polesitter Lando Norris won, with teammate Oscar Piastri 2.695 seconds behind, in a race where the only question turned out to be which McLaren driver would stand on the top step of the podium.
“We had a great battle, that’s for sure, and it was a lot of fun,” said Norris. “For me, there was a lot of stress; it was tough, especially when he was in the DRS, but I was managing the gap pretty well.
“It was a tough race; tricky, hot,” he continued. “Tiring, but it’s a perfect result for us as a team – a 1-2 is exactly what we want and we did it again, so I’m very happy.”
The Norris win cut the points gap to Piastri to 15, with the Australian leading with 216 to the Brit’s 201. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen remains third in points, with 155, despite being knocked out of the race on the first lap by Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, who crashed into the four-time world champion at Turn 3 after locking up.
With the defending champion falling more than two races worth of points behind, the likeliness of a fifth consecutive title for Verstappen now looks to be somewhere between slim to none.
Piastri nipped at his teammate’s heels for most of the opening 20 laps until Norris pitted early and the points leader stayed out for a few extra laps. When Piastri finally swapped tires, he found himself more than six seconds behind but hoped to use his fresher tires as an advantage.
Although he got the gap down tantalizingly close to DRS ranges in the final laps, Piastri never got within striking range and saw the timing of some backmarkers help Norris and ruin any chance he had to challenge for the win.
“I hope it was good watching because it was pretty hard work in the car,” said Piastri. “After I dropped back after the first stop, it was tough to make the progress to get back. So, some things to go over – maybe we could have done things better.”
The 1-2 for McLaren extended its lead in the constructors standings to a massive 207 markers, with the team now at 417 points to second-placed Ferrari’s 210. Mercedes lies third, at 209.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium after trying to keep Piastri behind at the start, ultimately watching the two McLarens streak away into the distance.
“The pace today just was not enough,” said Leclerc, who finished 19.820 seconds behind Norris. “[McLaren] was too fast for us and third was the best we could do and I don’t regret anything we’ve done today, I think it was our maximum – just not enough pace.”
Lewis Hamilton crossed the line fourth, with Mercedes driver George Russell rounding out the top-five. Of note, Team Stake rookie Gabriel Bortoleto scored his first career F1 points after finishing eighth.
Canadian Lance Stroll ended the day out of the points in 14th place. His points drought extended to eight grands prix, not including Spain, where he withdrew from the race.
