Photo from @McLarenF1 (McLaren Formula 1 Team Official X Account)
Lando Norris won the Austrian Grand Prix, leading to a commanding 1-2 finish for McLaren after holding off teammate Oscar Piastri in a tense but clean battle at the Red Bull Ring, round 11 of the 2025 Formula One world championship. The win is McLaren’s fourth one-two finish this year and Norris’ strongest performance.
While the front-runners-maintained control, several early incidents set the tone for a chaotic afternoon in Spielberg, Austria. During the formation lap, Carlos Sainz’s Williams caught fire due to a brake failure. Which caused an aborted start and marked a DNS (Did Not Start) for Sainz. His teammate Alex Albon retired on lap 16, making it a double DNF for Williams.
On the first lap, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli locked his rear brakes heading into Turn 3 and collided with Max Verstappen, ending both drivers’ races on the spot. Verstappen’s first-lap retirement means that his streak of 31 consecutive points finishes is now over, dealing with a major disappointment to Red Bull at their home Grand Prix. Verstappen’s retirement and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s poor performance leaves the team scoreless.
McLaren’s strategy in tire management was the key to maintaining control amidst chaos. Norris and Piastri were expected to duel for the win.
“We had a great battle, that’s for sure. It was a lot of fun — for me a lot of stress, but a lot of fun. A nice battle, so well done to Oscar. Hopefully it was a nice one for everyone to watch, but inside the car it was tough.
“He was so quick, so it was good fun.
“A one-two is exactly what we want, and we did it again, so I’m very happy.” Said Norris.
But in the end Norris ultimately seized the advantage. Norris narrowed the gap in the driver’s standing to just 15 points behind his teammate and extended their lead in the constructor’s championship to 374 points.
Ferrari now trails in second, just one point ahead of Mercedes, while Red Bull’s failure to score in Austria has left them a distant fourth. Ferrari’s drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished 3rd and 4th respectively in today’s Austrian Grand Prix.
With the title race tightening and McLaren showing no signs of slowing down, all eyes now turn to Silverstone—Norris’s home Grand Prix and a circuit where he’ll have the crowd firmly behind him.