Lando Norris secured a crucial victory at Sunday`s Austrian Grand Prix, effectively answering those who doubted him. Displaying strong race management, composure under pressure, and impressive speed, he has revitalized his championship bid just two weeks after a challenging Canadian GP where his title hopes seemed to falter.
Throughout the weekend at the Red Bull Ring, Norris consistently outperformed his McLaren teammate and championship rival, Oscar Piastri, who couldn`t match Norris` pace in practice, qualifying, or the race. Even when Piastri briefly overtook him at Turn 3 on lap 11, Norris immediately regained the lead at the following corner, maintaining control.
Naturally, a single win doesn`t define a season, and Norris still has a considerable task ahead to overcome the 15-point deficit to Piastri in the championship standings. Furthermore, failing to win in Austria – especially considering Piastri`s pressure during the initial laps – would have severely damaged his title aspirations, possibly beyond recovery.
Given his history of costly errors that have raised questions about his championship potential, the Austrian race might just be the pivotal moment Norris needed.
Speaking after the race on Sunday evening, Norris commented, “It`s definitely rewarding for me. It builds my confidence. Honestly, I don`t feel the need to prove anything to others. I`m more focused on proving things to myself.”
He added, “It was a solid, problem-free weekend from FP2 onwards. I felt very comfortable and in control of the car, performing exactly as planned and required. It was simply a clean weekend, which is what I needed.”
Consistency and error-free weekends have been Norris` main struggle this season. Despite often having a performance advantage over Piastri, the 25-year-old has frequently made mistakes, particularly in crucial qualifying sessions.
However, at the Red Bull Ring – a track where Norris secured his first F1 podium and consistently performs well – he demonstrated clear superiority. While he`s arguably been faster in four of the last five races (Imola, Monaco, Canada despite the incident, and Austria), achieving pole position and victory here truly solidified his championship credentials.
He commented, “It`s not that I haven`t been capable before, and the pace has shown up at times. It`s simply been different circumstances leading to different outcomes. But achieving what I did today and yesterday is very satisfying. However, it wasn`t effortless. It`s not just a case of showing up this weekend and things automatically improving. I`m putting in a significant amount of effort, doing much more work away from the circuit with the team, on the simulator, and with my personal crew, aiming to enhance every aspect of my performance on and off track.”
He added, “Seeing much of that effort pay off so quickly is a big positive. It`s a good step forward. I still need and want more improvements, so we`ll continue pushing.”
Team Principal Andrea Stella mentioned that discussions with Norris following the Canadian incident focused on supporting him rather than assigning blame. Norris had already taken responsibility for the crash in Montreal, and Stella stated that the priority quickly became rebuilding his confidence ahead of the Austrian race.
Stella explained, “Our discussions revolved around the clear presence of speed. He achieved pole and victory in Monaco. When he hit the wall during Canada qualifying, he was on track for pole. In the Canadian race, he was the fastest car, and he secured pole position here in Austria. The raw pace is evident; we just need to refine execution in a few areas, and the results will follow, exactly as Lando showed in Austria.”
He concluded, “I am very proud of Lando, and equally proud of how the whole team managed the situation in Canada, which resulted in us becoming more unified and stronger.”
Piastri Finds the Limit
Even accounting for the points lost in Canada, Norris has accumulated more points than Piastri (86 vs 85) over the last five events. From this perspective, and considering his performance relative to Piastri, Norris remains a strong championship threat despite his earlier errors.
During the initial phase of the race, Norris` win was far from guaranteed. Piastri mounted significant pressure on his teammate, keeping his car closely behind the other McLaren until Norris pitted first among the two on lap 20.
Their battle involved close wheel-to-wheel action, including what was arguably Piastri`s best opportunity when Norris went wide in the final two corners of lap 14, briefly opening the door for a daring move at Turn 1. Piastri opted against it then, but five laps later showed more aggression, aiming his McLaren into a gap on Norris` inside at Turn 4 – a gap that quickly disappeared, forcing Piastri to lock up and go off track.
From McLaren`s perspective, this maneuver pushed the boundaries of acceptable racing between teammates. Piastri was told over team radio that the move was `too risky.` He later acknowledged this during conversations with the pit wall and apologized via team radio after the race.
Stella explained, “Oscar`s acknowledgment and apology for the incident indicate he understood that, particularly at that stage of the stint with worn front tires, attempting such a gap means you might not fully control the car and could lock up. I believe the problem I saw there was the tire lock-up, which causes loss of car control. We don`t want the positioning of our two cars on track to be dictated by something we can`t fully control.”
He added, “I believe our view aligns with Oscar`s understanding. We will use every such situation as an opportunity for review; we discuss it collectively, these conversations are always very positive and productive, and we will refine our approach further for future races.”
This close call effectively ended the direct on-track battle, with Norris pitting at the end of lap 20 while Piastri remained out for four more laps. The fight then became a strategic one; Norris extended his lead by getting onto fresh tires sooner, but Piastri emerged with significantly younger tires, theoretically giving him a performance edge later in the race.
Before opting for the alternative strategy, Piastri had the choice: pit one lap after Norris and rejoin about 1.5 seconds behind, or stay out for the tire benefit, rejoining roughly four seconds behind. He chose the second option, though the actual gap when he returned to the track was six seconds.
With hindsight, it`s clear Piastri couldn`t close the six-second gap despite his fresher tires. However, Stella suggested this was partly due to Norris` strong pace during the second half of the race.
The McLaren team principal explained, “In that scenario, you have two main choices. The first is to pit immediately, one lap after the leading car. This puts you perhaps a couple of seconds behind with tires of similar age. The alternative is to postpone the stop to create a `tire delta.` After pitting, you might be three or four seconds behind, but you`ll have superior tires.”
“Then you`ll have a stint where you gain on the car that pitted earlier. On tracks with high tire wear, like this one, staying out longer usually offers an advantage. However, today that wasn`t necessarily obvious because we can`t isolate the impact of Oscar`s strategy from Lando`s actual pace.”
“I believe Lando was genuinely quick during the second stint on the hard tires, which prevented Oscar from fully utilizing the tire advantage he built. I think Lando, free from constant defensive driving, might have used a slight pace advantage – perhaps a tenth – to make Oscar`s strategy appear less effective.”
A `Two-Horse Race`
Following Kimi Antonelli`s collision with Max Verstappen`s Red Bull on the opening lap, the reigning champion`s already slim title prospects seemed to vanish by Sunday evening. The significant 61-point gap to Piastri in the standings and the inconsistent performance of his car under various conditions make it highly improbable that Verstappen can overtake both McLarens and defend his championship.
Later that Sunday, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was hesitant to concede that Verstappen`s championship bid was finished, but he couldn`t ignore the reality of the situation.
Horner commented, “I believe the advantage [McLaren] currently have this season is considerable. It strongly appears to be a two-way fight now. For our part, we will simply concentrate on each individual Grand Prix and aim to seize every possible chance.”
For observers, the positive aspect is that this two-way contest shows all the signs of a real championship battle that could potentially go down to the final race. At this moment, predicting the winner of the next race, let alone the championship title, is impossible.
Stella concluded, “With both drivers, our focus must be on taking things one race at a time. In each race, we need to ensure we maximize our potential, remain in the fight, and race each other adhering to our established approach and principles. Then, in Abu Dhabi, we will see the final result.”
