Formula 1: Norris wins Austrian GP ahead of Piastri, Leclerc

Spielberg, June 29 (IANS) Lando Norris got back to winning form at the Austrian Grand Prix, prevailing in a thrilling battle with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen was eliminated in a first-lap incident after coming in contact with Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes.

Starting from pole, Norris held the lead into Turn 1 but was quickly put under heavy pressure by championship leader Piastri. The Australian briefly forced his way into the lead during a tense exchange, but Norris soon reclaimed the position to secure the win.

After a particularly close call under braking for Turn 4, which saw Piastri lock up and almost run into the back of Norris, the Australian went slightly longer on his starting set of tyres in an attempt to build an advantage for the remainder of the race.

While Piastri lit up the timesheets in phases across the second and third stints, Norris had just enough pace in hand to hold onto P1 and take the chequered flag – marking his third win of the season and first victory since last month’s Monaco Grand Prix.

In the absence of team boss Fred Vasseur, who travelled home pre-race for “personal reasons”, the upgraded Ferraris had quiet but fruitful races en route to a podium with Charles Leclerc and fourth-place result with Lewis Hamilton.

George Russell was the sole Mercedes finisher in fifth, with rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli dramatically running into Max Verstappen under braking for Turn 3 on the opening lap – eliminating both drivers from the action.

Liam Lawson capitalised to convert his top-six grid slot into a top-six finish, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Kick Sauber’s Bortoleto, who scored his first F1 points after a monumental scrap with the two-time World Champion.

A strong recovery from the back of the grid brought a third successive points finish for Nico Hulkenberg, and gave Sauber a double points reward, while Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10 places for Haas.

Ollie Bearman followed team mate Ocon home in 11th position, with Isack Hadjar 12th in the other Racing Bulls machine and Pierre Gasly dropping from points contention to 13th amid severe balance problems aboard his Alpine.

Next up was Lance Stroll, whose eye-catching practice pace could not be carried over to Qualifying or the race, while Franco Colapinto (Alpine) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) were the final drivers to cross the finish line.

Colapinto came close to contact with Piastri in the closing stages of the race when the McLaren man was putting a lap on him, an incident that earned the F1 returnee a five-second penalty but did not impact his finishing position.

Tsunoda was hit with a 10-second penalty of his own for sending Colapinto into a spin earlier in the race, with Verstappen and Antonelli joined on the sidelines by Williams drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz – the latter unable to start after getting stuck on the grid.

--IANS

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