From hard racing to heartbreak: Austrian Grand Prix debrief
A second career win for British Mercedes driver George Russell after a dramatic battle between Verstappen and Norris in the final stages of the Grand Prix. Will we see a repeat of 2021 this season?
Since finishing second in China, Lando Norris has been hunting down 3-time world champion Max Verstappen, who has been dominant and unchallenged since 2021 - a chase fuelled further by Norris' maiden win in Miami. The British driver has been on the podium six times in this season's 11 races - one win, four second-place finishes and one final podium place finish. Unlike the past few years, where no one has come close to Max, of the times Lando has finished runner-up, he's been in striking distance, notably in Emilia-Romagna when he crossed the line only 0.7 seconds behind the race leader.
But today, Lando got a taste of the Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton knew very well in 2021. Following several laps of hard racing between fierce competitors, the Austrian GP ended in disaster with a collision on lap 64 of 71. Both drivers ended up with a puncture, but where Verstappen continued on to finish 5th, Lando retired from the race.
Arguably, both drivers were on the limit of fair racing, with Versterppen accusing Norris of 'late dive-bombs' and Norris calling Versterppen out for moving under braking. But regarding the ultimate blow, the collision, the stewards agreed it was Max's fault, and he was given a 10-second penalty - although this didn't do much to affect the outcome of his race. Max still finished the weekend with an increased championship lead against Norris.
I have no doubt Norris will bounce back next weekend at his home Grand Prix in Silverstone - the final race in this triple header. It is great to see competitive racing this season and someone closing in on Max, but I hope for the sake of their off-track friendship - one of the closest in the paddock - that they keep things clean from here on out.
Looking at the winners of today's race - Russell secured his second career win, and Mercedes became the 4th constructor to win a race this season. McLaren's second driver, Oscar Piastri, secured his second second-place finish of the season - all the more impressive with it only being the 23-year-old Australian driver's second season in F1. Carlos Sainz, who's still leaving the grid and the world hanging regarding his plans for 2025, took home third place.
Other hot battles on track today included intra-team battles between the Haas and Alpine drivers. Haas drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen did really well finishing 6th and 8th respectively - a great haul of points for the team. Pierre Gasly, who confirmed a multi-year contract extension with Alpine this week, ultimately won out over his teammate, finishing 10th and scoring his 400th point in F1.
Gasly wasn't the only driver to confirm where they will be in 2025 this week. Lance Stroll confirmed a multi-year contract extension with Aston Martin and will continue to race alongside Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso. However, this wasn't much of a surprise given the team's owned by billionaire Lawrence Stroll - Lance's father. There were also rumours of Logan Sargent moving to IndyCar - as the only American driver on the grid, it will be interesting to see if this affects F1's growing fanbase in the United States. Even with these moves in the driver market, 7 F1 seats remain unfilled in 2025.
Predictions for next week:
Two British drivers will finish on the podium
Oscar Piastri will be on pole
There will be two safety cars and one DNF