In the wake of a shocking exit from the Canadian Grand Prix after battling with teammate Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris delivered the Saturday he needed at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, emphatically taking pole position.
But the job was not done.
Norris finished the job on Sunday, fending off Piastri over a thrilling early stint that had fans on the edge of their seats, as well as every member of the team watching from the garage, on pit lane, or back at the factory in Woking. While Piastri did his best to put the pressure on in the closing laps. Norris was able to hold onto his lead to take the win at Red Bull Ring, inching closer to Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship race.
It was a week, and a win, that Norris needed. And one that may have changed the trajectory of the Drivers’ title fight.
Speaking after the race, Norris conceded that the “most pleasing” aspect of the Austrian Grand Prix was crossing the finish line, with the fight against Piastri in the rear-view mirror.
“Crossing the line at the end! That was the best bit, but there was plenty of fun along the way, with Oscar, in the first stint especially,” described Norris during the post-race press conference. “Some close moments, some good battles. Just a lot of laps of looking in my mirrors out of Turn 1 and all the way down to Turn 3. Stressful for sure, not the most comfortable position to be in, but it was a good battle between us. And then quite a long race from that point onwards because I never had a lovely gap, and Oscar kept coming at me the next two stints. So, yeah, good fun, but a tricky race, but well managed.”
Norris described the race, and his week in Austria, as “fulfilling” given what happened in Montreal.
“I mean, it’s certainly, yeah, it’s fulfilling for me. It gives me good confidence. I don’t need to prove any points or prove anything to anyone, honestly. I like to prove things to myself, probably more than anything,” said Norris in response to a question from Luke Smith of The Athletic. “So certainly, it’s been a good clean weekend from FP2 onwards. Felt very comfortable and very on top of the car and performed exactly as I want to and as I need to. I just had a clean weekend.
“That’s what I had. It’s not that I’ve not been able to do it before and the pace has always been there at certain points. It’s just there’s been some different reasons for different things. But certainly, coming in today and yesterday to do the job that I did, I’m pretty happy with. But it doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t come just because I’ve turned up this weekend and things are better,” added Norris. “I’m working a lot. I’m doing a lot more work than I used to away from the track with the team, on the simulator, with my own team, trying to improve everything that I can, both on and off the track. I think it’s more a positive thing to see a lot of those things paying off immediately. Good step in the right direction. Still need more, so want more. So, we’ll keep working.”
Norris’ win trimmed Piastri’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 15 points, as the British driver cut seven points off Piastri’s advantage. But more dramatically might be the result just behind the pair, as Max Verstappen was knocked out of the race on the opening lap, after rookie Kimi Antonelli locked his rear tires and slid into the Red Bull driver, ending the day for both of them.
That incident drew a penalty for Antonelli, but Verstappen’s finish outside the points dropped him 46 points behind Norris, and 61 points behind Piastri.
However, the focus on Sunday was on the driver who not only emerged victorious on this day, but now heads to his home race, where there will be an entire grandstand in his honor.
Norris denied that the pressure of the British Grand Prix, as well as the presence of “Landostand,” will be a factor next week.
“Certainly, for me, I don’t think there’s any more pressure,” said Norris. “Of course, it’s a place I want to win more than anywhere else, but it doesn’t change anything. It just puts a bit more of a smile on my face every morning when I wake up. It probably distracts me in a good way more than anything. Now I’ve got my own grandstand, and I’ve got more reasoning for different things. More of a positive distraction, I would say, more than a pressure.”
The McLaren driver noted that every week in F1 brings pressure, not just one’s home race.
“There’s pressure in every race. There’s pressure to win today, to be on pole yesterday. I don’t think I can put myself under any more pressure. That doesn’t change anything,” continued Norris. “More just something to look forward to, to enjoy every day, enjoy every lap, enjoy the experience, because it’s still for me an experience to have my own grandstand, to have so many of my fans there supporting me, cheering me on. Very excited for it. Kind of want to go there now, but I could do with a good sleep as well.”
Norris will get that sleep tonight.
Along with a big trophy, one he badly needed after a tough Canadian Grand Prix.
