CNN
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Lando Norris held off multiple challenges from his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
Having started in pole position, the Briton led for all but a few gripping seconds in lap 11. With the McLaren team giving permission for its drivers to fight it out, Piastri darted in front of Norris at turn three, only for Norris to snatch the lead back at turn four.
The Australian was undeterred, trying again in lap 20 but he locked up and nearly went into the back of his teammate’s car. Later warned by the McLaren team that he was too close to colliding with Norris, that was as close as Piastri would get for the remainder of the race.
“We had a great battle, that’s for sure,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports afterward. “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.”
The result means that Norris has cut his teammate’s lead to 15 points at the top of the drivers’ championship, after their collision two weeks ago at the Canadian Grand Prix ended the Briton’s last race and cost him valuable points in the standings.
“Intense,” was Piastri’s assessment of this weekend’s battle. “I hope it was good watching because it was pretty hard work from the car. Tried my absolute best. Probably could have done a better job when I just got ahead momentarily, but it was a good battle.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished in third, nearly 20 seconds behind Piastri.
The drama in Spielberg began before the race had even started. Carlos Sainz got stuck in first gear on the grid when trying to move off for the formation lap, and was still there when Norris and Piastri came around the last corner, causing the start to be delayed by 15 minutes.
When the Williams driver eventually started and made it to the pits, his brakes caught fire. The Spaniard was unscathed, but his race was over before it had even begun.
The chaos continued into the first lap when Andrea Kimi Antonelli collided with Max Verstappen, ending both drivers’ races.
The Italian came into turn three too quickly and cut across the pack, going into the back of Verstappen and causing both cars to spin out.
“I’m out. I got hit like crazy,” said Verstappen on the team radio shortly after. “Idiots.”
Antonelli was apologetic, telling Sky Sports: “I feel super sorry for the team and for Max, because he was just a passenger … It’s a big mistake, but we need to look forward.”
The incident caused Verstappen to suffer his first retirement of the season, ending his streak of scoring in 31 consecutive races.
Antonelli’s exit meant that Mercedes dropped to third in the constructors’ championship standings. The team was leapfrogged by Ferrari, who had Lewis Hamilton finish in fourth, one place behind his teammate Leclerc.
It was also a good day for Kick Sauber, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg finishing in eighth and ninth, respectively.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
