Lando Norris was a man on a mission at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, laser-focused on one thing, and that is redeeming himself after his disastrous race in Canada.
It only took Norris a fortnight to reset after Canada, which was a massively demoralizing moment for him after crashing into the back of Oscar Piastri's car; more on that later.
The Austrian Grand Prix might end up being the turning point of the 2025 Formula 1 season on a couple of fronts: The McLaren intra-team battle and Max Verstappen's title hopes.
Let's be honest, these are the main talking points this season, while everything else, with all due respect to other teams and drivers, is simply a side show.
A lap around the Red Bull Ring is short, which amplifies the consequences of the slightest of errors, and along with the track layout and its abrasive asphalt, it mixed things up.
Drama took over from the very start of the race, with Carlos Sainz's brakes misbehaving as his car ended up catching fire, which is not the first time for the Spaniard in Spielberg. Remember the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix?
And then came Kimi Antonelli's rookie moment on Lap 1 as he wiped out Max Verstappen, and with that, the Dutchman's hopes of retaining his drivers' crown.
And despite losing the Max factor early on, the McLarens did not disappoint, as they had their own race around 20s clear of any rivals, and while they did not crash, that wasn't without some hair-raising moments for the Papaya pit wall.
So let's get into the details and our Takeaways from the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix.
Norris' timely response
After Canada, it was very important for Norris to respond immediately, which made his weekend in Spielberg quite a fateful one, as he really needed to stop the Piastri tide that was taking over McLaren.
Missing out on FP1 was not ideal for Norris, but from the moment he hit the track in FP2, he was clearly in the zone and never relinquished his leading position after that.
In qualifying, Norris was on it, and when he reached the all-important Q3, he did not buckle and delivered a pole lap that no one, not even Piastri, could challenge.
Now, we need to keep in mind that the Australian could not do another lap in Q3 due to the Yellow flag, but even if he did, there was no way he could've denied his teammate pole.
Then came the race, and the pressure was on Norris to finish the job, and finish he did. He defended the second-starting Charles Leclerc in a way that opened the door for Piastri to pass the Monegasque, which the Aussie duly did, and from there on, it was a two-horse race till the chequered flag.
We have always noted that while Norris was the faster McLaren driver, Piastri was the better racer, but the former soaked up his teammate's early pressure beautifully as they traded blows while keeping it clean.
However, there was that moment when Oscar became too greedy and almost rear-ended Lando, which resulted in a pit wall intervention instructing him to calm down.
We were discussing Norris' Austrian Grand Prix in the GrandPrix247 editorial WhatsApp group, and our Red Mist columnist, Michelle Lupini made quite an interesting observation.
I quote him saying: "There is something very different about Lando this weekend. As if he has finally grown up. No more smiley face Alfred E Newman joking all the time. A serious face. Thousand-yard stare. Like the greats. And it showed. Seems he has been on some mind malarkey or something. Good for him."
Quite an accurate body language analysis, and on that same note: Did you see Piastri after the race?
What now for Verstappen?
It never rains but it pours... That is the current situation Verstappen finds himself in with 13 more grands prix remaining this season.
As if it wasn't enough for him having to deal with his RB21 and fighting the McLarens without a teammate to back him, his luck was so bad that a Yellow flag ruined his final Q3 lap, and then the hapless Antonelli took him out on Lap 1.
Now, to be realistic, pole was never a possibility for Verstappen, not with Norris on top form, but he could've at least started on the second row.
Even if Max wasn't taken out, winning the race was a tall order even with his brilliance behind the wheel, but at least we could've seen some Verstappen magic, and he could've once again limited the damage.
But this is motor racing, and now the Dutchman finds himself in a very critical situation where, for the first time this season, a fifth F1 title is slipping away unless Red Bull can somehow find a silver bullet for their errant RB21 or if the McLaren somehow implodes—Norris and Piastri were inches away from that in Austria.
While we are used to a ballistic Max when things go wrong, he was calm after stepping out of his stricken car and graciously dealt with Antonelli.
Was he just being nice to his future teammate? Probably not.
You could feel Verstappen was resigned after that crash, and you cannot blame him. In the end he is human, and while he can always keep his car in check, he cannot have control over Lady Luck, who is obviously not smiling upon him these days.
More importantly, how will the Austrian Grand Prix affect the four-time F1 champion's thinking process about his future?
The 2025 F1 season will probably go down as Verstappen's best ever in his career, driving-wise, but despite that, it will not deliver him a fifth consecutive title.
Austrian Grand Prix Quick Hits
- After George Russell's Canadian Grand Prix victory, the race in Austria was the real test of Mercedes' upgrades and whether they sorted out their W16's woes in hot conditions.
As it turned out, the W16 remains a diva on hot abrasive asphalt.
As for Antonelli, he will learn… - A great weekend from Gabriel Bortoleto, who finally scored his first points in F1. He was strong all weekend in Spielberg and finished the job in qualifying on race day.
Nico Hulkenberg scoring points as well after starting last made the weekend sweeter for Sauber. - Ferrari may have had a decent weekend, but the SF-25 remains a mystery for Lewis Hamilton, while Leclerc did well to snatch another podium, albeit 20s behind the McLarens.
- Liam Lawson had a strong weekend, bettering his impressive teammate, Isack Hadjar. The Kiwi needs to consistently deliver performances like this.
- Lance Stroll flattered to deceive, showing strong pace throughout the weekend. Then came qualifying, and it was Fernando Alonso who delivered in both qualifying and the race.
- What a disastrous weekend for Williams. Struggling in qualifying and a double DNF. Not the weekend James Vowles would've wanted after renewing his contract.
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