Austrian Grand Prix Virtual Grid Walk: Lando’s most important race
F1 NewsSunday, 29 June 2025 at 14:13
If today’s Austrian Grand Prix gets its own Netflix Drive to Survive episode, after taking a pummeling from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in recent races, then Lando Norris must win and reignite his 2025 Formula 1 World Championship challenge.
Make no mistake, when Norris is good, he’s great. As he showed with a stonking lap in qualifying on Saturday, the only driver to dip into the 1:03s around the ultra-short but totally tricky Red Bull Ring, he claimed his 12th Grand Prix pole position and will be gunning for victory.
In a perfect scenario, he’ll write the script and it will end with a win. If not that, then definitely by finishing ahead of his teammate, Piastri. Indeed, this is Norris’s most important Grand Prix. The one where his credentials as a title challenger will be fully tested: his resilience, his consistency and his worthiness. Failure today will be a mega-blow, but victory will be a mega-boost to his aspirations.
Why a full Netflix episode on the topic?
First, it would be redemption for his Canadian self-destructive brainfade. Nice footage there. And with it, a resounding message to his title rival: This ain't over, Oscar! Perhaps even the Englishman's turning point in a season in which he could end up as World Champion.
Will Norris dominate the Austrian Grand Prix?
Martin Brundle stated before this weekend in Spielberg that when Norris wins, he dominates. The Sky F1 pundit is right. More so if Norris runs away with today's Austrian Grand Prix.
At the same time, starting behind him from P3, Piastri might not have had the pace of his teammate on Saturday in Spielberg, but more often than not, he’s a driver you'd back in a race battle. Don’t expect him to roll over. As he says, P3 is not why he’s racing today. Again, these two are raising the benchmark for one another. Relentlessly.
To move forward towards the podium, Lewis Hamilton will have to get past Charles Leclerc, who delivered a fine showing in an updated Ferrari that seems to have pacified their drivers. Hamilton also spoke positively about the new package bolted on for Red Bull Ring this weekend. The red cars will also start line-abreast, with Leclerc P2 and Hamilton P4. McLaren vs Ferrari. An age-old and iconic rivalry, fabulously revived.
Behind them, from the top of the third row, George Russell cannot be discounted. Although Mercedes are not always sure what kind of car they’ll have from session to session, be sure that if their man finds the kind of performance he had in Canada, he could very much factor into where this victory goes. If not that, he’s certainly a strong contender for the podium, whether or not the guys ahead of the Mercedes get into trouble.
Lawson best of all Red Bull drivers, starts ahead of Max!
Next to Russell, his best performance this season. Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson was quickest of the entire Red Bull posse. Launching from P6, it will be interesting to see how the sort-of rookie handles running among the elite. It's a long-overdue result for the Kiwi.
He needs a good result today, at least to stay out of trouble, to prevent his bosses from sending him packing and promoting the next in line for that seat, aka Arvid Lindblad. It’s a very important race for Lawson to show that when he’s got a package that works for him, and he puts it where it belongs, he can keep it there.
Verstappen lining up in P7 is going to be mighty interesting. The "sword" of a race ban hangs over him on another Sunday in which he goes to war solo for Red Bull while trying to keep his fifth F1 title hopes alive. Max needs the kind of miracle or magic that only he can conjure up to win at Red Bull Ring, where he's seeking a record-extending sixth victory.
It’s a mighty ask and a mighty task for the four-time Formula 1 World Champion. But what has made this era of Formula 1 so intriguing is how the Dutch ace can turn any place on the grid into a win. Sure, perhaps Verstappen doesn’t have the car that has seen him produce such magical victories in the past.
But this is the Red Bull Ring. It’s Red Bull’s home track. The Orange Army has invaded. The place is painted in his colours. On these occasions, legends of our sport are made. Expect a Max miracle. I always do.
Bortoleto finally delivers for Sauber, exposes teammate Hulkenberg
Just ahead of him on the grid, like Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto finally gave us the kind of performance expected of him and of a rookie with a bright future in Formula 1. Granted, one qualifying doesn’t make a career, but that’s the benchmark he’s now set. And with it, he pulverised his veteran Sauber teammate. More on him down in P20 later. Bortoleto made a welcome, albeit overdue, entrance into Q3.
It’s hard to believe the Sauber can keep some of the faster cars behind it. Thus, it’s a big day for the Brazilian to show what he really has in territory where he’s never really raced before, at the highest level. It’ll be intriguing to see if he can kick-start the season with a points haul today. Bortoleto has yet to score a point in F1.
P9 on the grid is probably not where Kimi Antonelli wanted to be. He probably had more in him to be closer to George up ahead. But he’s not being trounced. He’s only 18. It’s his first season. With a Mercedes up against a Sauber and a VCARB, he might fancy his chances of moving up the order.
Beside him, Pierre Gasly put the Alpine in P10. The Frenchman is always good for a brawl in the midfield and will fancy his chances of moving up the order if the Alpine allows it and he doesn’t bin it. With his experience, he’ll be keen to test the rookies that surround him in race conditions. If he can keep it in the points, it will be a job well done.
Alonso will fancy grabbing more points from P11
Starting from P11, Alonso will fancy his chances of grabbing some points, having extended his qualifying record against teammate Lance Stroll to 23 to 0. While the Canadian seemed to find some performance during practice, in the end, as always, it was Alonso who could extract more from the package when it mattered. Stroll starts from P16.
Ahead of him are the likes of Franco Colapinto in the other Alpine and Isaac Hadjar, both with something to prove vis-à-vis their teammates way up ahead on the grid. Alex Albon again had the better of the two Williams drivers, while Carlos Sainz’s form is now entering crisis territory. Is it the car? Is it him? Is it a case of Danny Ric Syndrome? Something's wrong. Sainz lines up P19, with Albon in P12.
Yuki Tsunoda seems to be a one-man team. He just cannot replicate anything close to the form of Max Verstappen. He was six-tenths down and axed in Q1. The Japanese driver is completely out of his depth, and one wonders how much longer they’ll keep him in that seat.
To be honest, they’re out of options, so they probably have to persevere. A good showing by Yuki today would go a long way toward building his confidence. But the reality is, the gap to his teammate on all fronts is insurmountable. Probably the worst of the bunch so far.
WTF? Hülkenberg!
Finally, Nico Hülkenberg. Many have hailed the German’s form of late in the perennial backmarkers that Sauber has become, but he was glaringly exposed by a driver with far less experience who put the same car in P8. For a podiumless veteran with 238 Grand Prix starts on his CV, it begs the question. I find myself shaking my head. How can this be?
Haas F1 Team started the weekend on the back foot and looks set to end it that way. Once again, Oliver Bearman outqualified Esteban Ocon, making it 5 to 6 to the Frenchman between the pair.
As always this season, it’s hard to predict who the winner might be, but the first two rows are likely to produce the victor. The McLaren still has a handy edge in performance, suggesting Montreal was just a blip in their campaign. If one of them doesn't win it, they'll put it down to another race that was theirs to win but they didn’t.
After all, this is Spielberg, with its microclimates, sandy edges, tight and tricky conditions, and a 72-second lap. It may well throw up an epic race today. Enjoy the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix!
Austrian Grand Prix Facts & Statistics by Reuters
Formula 1 facts & statistics for the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg, Rpound 11 of the 24-race 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
- Lap distance: 4.318km. Total distance: 306.452km (71 laps)
- 2024 pole position: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull, One minute 04.314 seconds.
- 2024 winner: George Russell (Britain) Mercedes
- Race lap record: Carlos Sainz (Spain) Ferrari 1:05.619, 2020
- Start time: 1300 GMT (1500 local)
- The Red Bull-owned circuit has the shortest lap, in terms of time, on the calendar with only 10 corners but aggressive kerbs. It takes a little over a minute to complete.
- It also has the second biggest difference between its highest and lowest points (69m), after Spa-Francorchamps.
- This year will be the 38th Austrian Grand Prix.
- The first was held at Zeltweg airfield in 1964 and moved to the Oesterreichring (later renamed A1 Ring and now Red Bull Ring) in 1970.
- There have been 10 winners from pole in 20 races on the current configuration. Most overtakes occur into turns three and four. Turns two, five and eight are taken at full throttle.
- Verstappen has a record four Austrian wins (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023) and other active winners are Charles Leclerc (2022), Lewis Hamilton (2016) and George Russell (2024).
- Mercedes are the most successful team in Austria with seven victories.
- Hamilton and Verstappen also won the two Styrian GPs held at the same circuit during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
- The last three editions of the race have run as a sprint weekend but this year reverts to its traditional schedule.
2025 F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
- Full standings ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix here>>>
McLaren's Oscar Piastri leads the drivers' championship by 22 points from teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen is 43 points behind Piastri. - Leaders and champions McLaren are 175 points clear of Mercedes, with Ferrari a further 16 adrift.
- Piastri has won five of 10 races this season, Verstappen and Norris two each and Russell one.
- Seven-times world champion Hamilton has a record 105 career victories from 366 starts. Verstappen has won 65 grands prix and is third on the all-time list after Schumacher on 91.
- Piastri has seven career wins to Norris's six and can become the first Australian to win six in a season.
- Piastri has been on pole four times this season, Verstappen three, Norris twice and Russell once.
- Norris has started on the front row in five of 10.
- Both McLaren drivers have finished on the podium eight times in 2025 but Piastri's run of eight in a row ended in Canada two weeks ago.
- Charles Leclerc's second place in Monaco was Ferrari's best of the season so far.
- Only Piastri and Verstappen have scored in every race this season, with Norris' run ending after a late collision with his teammate in Canada.
- Piastri has scored for 36 races in a row.
- Two rookies have yet to score -- Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine's Franco Colapinto.
Latest News
Loading
