Lando Norris led McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri home to secure an important one-two finish for the team at the Austrian Grand Prix.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella would have had his heart in his mouth during the first period of the race.
Oscar Piastri did a fine job overtaking Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc around the outside of the first corner.
Lando Norris maintained the lead from pole position but immediately found himself under pressure from the drivers’ championship leader.
At one point, Piastri did sneak past Norris, only for the Brit to use the DRS to take back the position before the next corner.
Piastri locked up his tyres heading into turn four, trying one daring move that nearly took out both McLarens, and from that point, he was informed on the team radio not to try anything drastic again.
Immediately after the race, each of the drivers on the podium was interviewed by Davide Valsecchi.
Norris shared precisely what he found so tough about racing Piastri during the Austrian Grand Prix.
Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Lando Norris explains why Oscar Piastri was so ‘tough’ to race at the Austrian Grand Prix
Norris was asked how he handled Piastri in the first 20 laps of the race and explained: “We had a great battle, that’s for sure!
“It was a lot of fun, well, for me, it was a lot of stress but a lot of fun!
“Yes, a nice battle, so well done to Oscar. Hopefully, it was a nice one for everyone to watch, but from inside the car, it was obviously tough, especially when he was in the DRS.
“The DRS is so big around here, and it was hard to get him out of the gap, but once I did, I could manage things pretty well, and he was still quick, so it was still fun!”
Lando Norris closes the gap to Oscar Piastri in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship
After initially leading the drivers’ championship following his victory on the opening day of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Norris has been playing catch-up to Piastri for some time.
Norris needed to show full commitment in qualifying to produce potentially the best pole position lap of his career.
He was more than half a second clear of Leclerc and Piastri, and while the Australian appeared to be quicker than him during the opening stages of the race, he defended his lead perfectly.
McLaren offset Piastri’s strategy by several laps, opening a gap between both drivers that prevented another prolonged intra-team tussle.
It means Norris has closed the gap to Piastri in the championship to 15 points heading into the British Grand Prix.
David Coulthard warned Norris how he could have lost the race in Austria, but he avoided any mistakes or strategic issues to take the chequered flag.
After Max Verstappen retired from the race, it appears as though the drivers’ championship is going to be heading to McLaren’s Woking base.
The question is which driver will be lifting the trophy at the end of the season.
