World Champion and McLaren driver Lando Norris had a pretty quiet run to P7 at the 2026 F1 Austrian GP.
Starting P6 on the grid, the British driver lost out to teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. He would then fall to P8 as Isack Hadjar got the undercut in the first round of stops; the Frenchman was close behind the McLarens and they had to cover with their lead driver.
As Charles Leclerc and Ferrari struggled massively on tyres, that allowed the Brit to take P7 thanks to one less stop.
Lando Norris on a difficult 2026 F1 Austrian GP
Asked in the print media pen about his race, the 2025 F1 World Champion explained the importance of track position on the day.
“Difficult for everyone I think. There was nothing easy about the race with the temperatures we had.
“I just lost out on lap 1 to a couple of cars, and lost out then in the pit stops with having to box Oscar first to cover Hadjar. I lost out and that was it really, so not a lot to complain of otherwise.
“We lost track position and track position was the most important thing today.
“Unfortunate, but that’s the way it is.”
Better pace in the race compared to qualifying
Having looked the slowest of the top 4 teams on Saturday, McLaren had a slightly better Sunday. While the Mercedes duo and Max Verstappen had too much speed for them, they were extremely competitive against Ferrari.
Oscar Piastri managed to beat Lewis Hamilton to P4, with Lando Norris ahead of Charles Leclerc in 7th at the end of the 2026 F1 Austrian GP. The drivers of car #44 and #16 had big degradation and balance struggles.
Since the season got underway, it has been clear that Ferrari are down on power versus Mercedes and Red Bull, hence opportunities via the ADUO.
Norris admitted he felt bad for Ferrari. When a car lacks top speed, the drivers have to compensate for it by pushing even hard in the corners, which generally leads to higher tyre degradation versus the competition on a power-sensitive track.
“I would say the pace seems to be a little bit better than we probably expect for Sunday.
“The shock was really Ferrari today, struggling so much.
“To be honest, I feel bad for them. When you have no power, you have to push like hell in the corners and you can’t do that with these kind of tyres. It’s a tough race for them.
“But otherwise not a bad race [for us]. I think we still struggle with the balance and it’s still incredibly difficult to drive the car, but I expect it’s pretty similar for everyone on track today.
“We didn’t change anything. We still have the same struggles and we just need time to improve it.
Norris on Piastri getting ahead on first lap of 2026 F1 Austrian GP
Off the line, Norris got a better launch than Max Verstappen. They went side-by-side into turn 1, with the Dutchman holding it around the outside. The Brit had another look into turn 3 but had to back out of it.
On the exit, Oscar Piastri got a better run and took the position before turn 4. The World Champion tried to fight back into the same corner on the next tour, but he was fended off the Australian.
The 11-time race winner explained the extra caution required when racing a teammate.
“For a few corners [we had a good battle], yes.
“It’s always difficult, especially in some corners, to not over-push because your teammate is there. And of course he got to the outside.
“But he did a good job, that’s all.
Red Bull gains
Following more updates to the RB22, they took a huge step forward in race pace. Max Verstappen split Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, taking a very strong P2 on Sunday.
The four-time F1 World Champion finished 20s clear of Oscar Piastri.
Lando Norris praised Red Bull for the step they made. Nonetheless, he is curious to see if it continues at other tracks, starting at Silverstone this weekend. High-speed performance has been the biggest weakness for the Milton Keynes-based squad so far in 2026.
“I mean, maybe for them to be as competitive, I think you can’t be surprised.
“They’re still Red Bull, they’re still an incredible team and it’s not like they were bad before. They still have some very good performances and they finished 3rd in Montreal, things like this. It’s not like they had a bad car, it’s just they struggled in some races.
“This was maybe one of two, especially with the very high top speed that they have and good high-speed cornering.
“So, let’s wait and see a few races, but they did a good job, so hats off to them.
McLaren’s MCL40 not competitive in high-speed at the Red Bull Ring
Asked about the deficit in high-speed corners at the 2026 F1 Austrian GP, Lando Norris delivered a brutal assessment of the situation McLaren are in.
“We’re a long way behind. There’s a reason he’s [Russell was] on pole by 4 tenths [without a single yellow flag].
“Yeah, not [losing] four tenths [on the straight]. Two tenths maximum.”
