Lando Norris discusses his hard fought Formula 1 Austrian GP battle with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri as he secures his third victory of the 2025 season.
Lando Norris executed a flawless Austrian Grand Prix to secure victory ahead of his charging McLaren teammate. Having maintained the lead under pressure throughout the opening stint, Norris managed to fend off a closing stages push from Piastri.
Speaking after the F1 Austrian GP, Norris discussed the pressure of his opening stint. The McLaren driver explained the difficulty of the opening stint as his teammate held onto him up to the first round of pit stops.
“It was an exciting fight with Oscar [Piastri],” Norris recalled as he spoke to Sky F1 following the Austrian GP. “It was tough. Especially the first few laps, first twenty laps. He was pushing a lot. He just had DRS and he could get the battery up and I had to keep using my battery to try get him out of DRS, and I was in a very very difficult situation.
“I managed to stay ahead even though I made a couple of mistakes here and there and he had a good lot of opportunities.”
One key moment on his route to victory was a battle which saw Piastri briefly take the lead during the first stint. A well planned counter move from Norris allowed him to quickly regain his position and proceed to hold his lead.
When asked about this early scrap, Norris credited the characteristics of the Red Bull Ring in allowing him to make his counter move.
“Around here it’s not like once the overtake is done it’s done,” he replied. “You have plenty of opportunities in the next corner. I got the perfect switchback out of turn 3. As long as you position the car in the right place and you put them in a defensive mode, then you can take advantage.
“I was of course close to losing it, but I stayed ahead. That was, for me, the most important. I had track position. Yeah, it was a tough battle.”
When asked about Piastri’s lap 20 move for the lead of the F1 Austrian GP, Norris had praise for his teammate’s driving. A turn 4 lock up saw Piastri nearing contact with Norris, a move which the team told him was over the limit on the radio. The resulting pit stop phase then saw Piastri lose ground to his teammate.
Norris on the other hand had a different view. Reflecting on the move, made shortly before the pit window, Norris explained the difficulty of wheel-to-wheel battling. He went on to compliment the battles he shared with his teammate.
“We’ll always still try to win the races and finish first and second,” he said when quizzed about the championship battle. “With how the car was today, it was pretty dominant compared to the rest of the grid. I would like to think [the championship is between the McLaren drivers].
“It’s tougher than it looks. To place the car perfectly, to not make a mistake, to not lock up. There were some close moments today, but I think all very fair and all acceptable in my opinion. Some good racing between us.”
