Lando Norris won the 2025 Austrian GP, with Oscar Piastri crossing the finish line in second, and Charles Leclerc in third. Lewis Hamilton followed behind in fourth, marking a good weekend for Ferrari.
Fire, Retirements, Penalties, and First Points – the 2025 Austrian GP Had It All
Heading into the 2025 Austrian GP weekend, all ten teams had everything to play for. McLaren arrived chasing a 1-2 finish to cement their Constructors’ Championship. With Norris and Piastri locked in a battle for the Drivers’ title, there would be no room for team orders.
Ferrari came to Spielberg determined to bounce back from poor weekends, eager to regain momentum before heading to Hamilton’s home race at Silverstone. Red Bull, meanwhile, sought redemption at their circuit, the Red Bull Ring, desperate to stay within the Drivers’ fight.
As for Mercedes, the focus was firmly on continuing their upward trajectory, with Russell eyeing more silverware and rookie Antonelli looking to convert his pace into another podium.
FP1: Russell Leads the Way
George Russell set the pace in FP1 at the 2025 Austrian GP, leading the field with a 1:05.542. The Briton finished ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
Two rookies made their F1 weekend debuts. F2 leader Alex Dunne replaced Lando Norris at McLaren. Dunne impressed, finishing fourth, just behind Piastri. Ferrari also handed a run to Dino Beganovic, who filled in for Charles Leclerc. Technical issues disrupted his session, which briefly led to his car being placed on stands with the floor removed.
Elsewhere, Yuki Tsunoda struggled in his Red Bull, while a gearbox issue on Lewis Hamilton‘s SF-25 interrupted his session. Fernando Alonso brought out a brief yellow flag after spinning onto the grass at the final corner, but the Spaniard carried on without damage.
In the closing stages, as more drivers switched to softs, Russell held firm at the top. Verstappen crossed the line second, followed by Piastri, with Dunne’s debut earning him fourth ahead of Pierre Gasly in fifth. Gabriel Bortoleto impressed in sixth for Kick Sauber, and Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Hamilton, and Isack Hadjar completed the top 10 in FP1 at the 2025 Austrian GP.
FP2: Norris Takes Back Control
Norris led a McLaren one-two in FP2 at the 2025 Austrian GP, setting the pace ahead of teammate Piastri and Verstappen in third.
Returning to the grid after Dunne’s FP1 outing, Norris wasted no time asserting himself as the Drivers’ Championship heats up. The McLaren driver set an early benchmark of 1:05.437 on medium tyres.
There was early drama when Leclerc found himself in the gravel at Turn 6, while Kimi Antonelli was forced to take action to avoid a slow-moving Hamilton at Turn 4.
As the session progressed and the field switched to soft tyres, Norris set a 1:04.580. This time kept him comfortably clear of Piastri by 0.157s and Verstappen by 0.318s, despite the Dutchman using two fresh sets of softs in his efforts to close the gap.
Lance Stroll impressed in fourth for Aston Martin, ahead of Leclerc, Russell, and Tsunoda, who trailed behind teammate Verstappen by just under four tenths.
Bortoleto crossed the line eighth for Kick Sauber, outperforming Alonso in ninth and Hamilton in tenth. The latter was frustrated with his lack of pace, an issue which plagues Ferrari often.
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FP3: Will Norris Dominate the 2025 Austrian GP?
Norris continued his form at the 2025 Austrian GP, topping FP3 ahead of Piastri and Verstappen. His 1:04.324 was enough to lead the grid once again, setting the stage for what looked to be a competitive qualifying.
Several drivers had their flying laps deleted for track limits after running wide, particularly at Turns 1 and 9.
Verstappen was among the first to venture out, bolting on hard tyres and posting a 1:06.131, well off Norris’s FP2 benchmark. The Red Bull driver’s struggles continued as he ran wide at the final corner, noting his RB21 felt snappy on corner exit.
As more cars filtered onto the circuit, Norris promptly bettered Verstappen’s time by 0.156s on soft tyres. However, the Briton was among several drivers forced to abandon flying laps after overstepping the limits at Turn 1, along with Franco Colapinto and both Ferraris.
Approaching the halfway mark, Norris remained in control, sitting four-tenths clear of Hamilton and Russell. However, the McLaren advantage was not entirely secure. Piastri pushed hard to close the gap, only to rattle through the gravel at Turn 9.
Shortly after, Hadjar caused a yellow flag with a spin at Turn 10, having dropped a wheel into the gravel.
Norris briefly abandoned another fast lap after running wide over kerbs, but his earlier effort was enough to keep him top. Piastri followed just 0.118s behind, with Verstappen completing the top three despite a late spin of his own.
Leclerc and Hamilton took fourth and fifth, followed by Russell, Stroll, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto. Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10, narrowly ahead of Alonso, Hülkenberg, Albon, Sainz, and Bearman. Gasly, Ocon, Hadjar, and Colapinto completed the order in FP3 at the 2025 Austrian GP.
Qualifying: It’s Norris on Pole
Norris took pole position for the 2025 Austrian GP in qualifying, delivering a lap half a second clear of Leclerc. The Briton continued McLaren’s dominant form at the Red Bull Ring.
Q1
After a brief delay, caused by a red flag in the F2 Sprint Race, Albon led a queue of cars onto the circuit as the session finally got underway. As expected, all were running the C5 soft tyres for their first runs.
Norris wasted no time in setting the pace, immediately going quickest with a 1:04.672, a lap that placed him four-tenths clear of Verstappen.
Piastri made a mistake on his opening push lap. The Australian ran wide at Turn 4, kicking up gravel as he ran through the gravel. He quickly regrouped, slotting into P2 on his next attempt, albeit three-tenths off Norris’s benchmark.
Further down the order, the battle to escape the drop zone was heating up. Bortoleto impressed by lifting himself to fifth, while his teammate Hülkenberg found himself slipping into danger. Albon also delivered a strong improvement, taking fifth from Bortoleto as the session tightened.
Lawson jumped up to third, slotting between Piastri and Versteppen. Bearman climbed into the top ten, while Alonso escaped the bottom five.
OUT: Stroll (P16), Ocon (P17), Tsunoda (P18), Sainz (P19), Hülkenberg (P20).
Q2
The Ferraris led the way out of the pit lane as the clock ticked down from 15 minutes. Albon joined them on track in what was a relatively quiet start to the session, with the rest of the field filtering out gradually in the opening minutes.
Lawson continued to impress by briefly going fastest on his first flying lap. However, his time at the top was short-lived. Verstappen responded immediately to displace him, only for Piastri to go quicker moments later. However, it was Norris who, once again, set the benchmark of 1:04.410.
OUT: Alonso (P11), Albon (P12), Hadjar (P13), Colapinto (P14), Bearman (P15).
Q3
As Q3 began, there was immediate tension in the pit lane as Russell was released into the path of oncoming cars.
When the first flying laps came in, it was Norris who, once again, was leading the way. The McLaren driver set a 1:04.268, going more than two-tenths clear of Piastri. Leclerc split the papaya pair to move into second, while Hamilton slotted into fourth in the other Ferrari, just ahead of Russell in fifth.
Behind them, Verstappen held sixth after his first attempt, followed by Antonelli, Bortoleto, and Gasly. Lawson opted against setting an initial lap, choosing instead to focus on a single late run.
As the final runs approached, Norris produced a lap time of 1:03.971, extending his advantage to over half a second.
Gasly then lost the rear of his Alpine and spun at the final corner, triggering yellow flags just as several drivers were starting their final flying laps. Both Piastri and Verstappen were forced to abort their attempts.
ORDER: Norris (Pole), Leclerc (P2), Piastri (P3), Hamilton (P4), Russell (P5), Lawson (P6), Verstappen (P7), Bortoleto (P8), Antonelli (P9), Gasly (P10).
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2025 Austrian GP: Norris Holds Off Piastri for the Win
Norris delivered a controlled performance to claim victory at the 2025 Austrian GP, leading home teammate Piastri by just under three seconds. Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari, over 19 seconds adrift.
Chaos at the Start
Drama struck before the lights even went out. Sainz’s Williams ground to a halt on the grid during the formation lap, forcing an aborted start and a reduced race distance of 70 laps.
As the Spaniard headed back to the pits, flames erupted from the rear of his FW46. His race was over before it had even begun.
When the race finally got underway, chaos continued. Piastri immediately squeezed past Leclerc into Turn 1 to secure P2 behind Norris. Further back, Antonelli misjudged his braking into Turn 3. Locking up, he touched Verstappen, spinning the Red Bull around and breaking his front suspension on Lawson’s RB. Antonelli and Verstappen retired, while Lawson dropped to ninth.
The safety car was deployed, neutralising the field until racing resumed on lap four. Out front, the McLaren pair pulled clear of the Ferraris, with Piastri clinging onto DRS range in the opening stint.
First Stop and McLaren Team Orders
Norris briefly surrendered the lead on lap 11 after running wide at Turn 1, but retook the position almost immediately with DRS into Turn 4 after Piastri’s opportunistic move.
The first pit window opened on lap 20 after Piastri locked up into Turn 4 after attempting to move past Norris. The Briton responded by boxing for hard tyres, but a slow 3.1-second pit stop cost him time. Piastri extended his stint before pitting on lap 24, suffering an even slower 3.4-second stop.
Shortly afterwards, McLaren intervened. Piastri was informed that his earlier behaviour at Turn 4 was not to be replicated, alongside other aggressive moves. The team aimed to preserve a 1-2 finish rather than risk another collision.
Penalties and Points in the Midfield
Further drama unfolded in the midfield. Tsunoda attempted a dive on Colapinto at Turn 4, leaving the Alpine to spin. The stewards gave Tsunoda a 10-second penalty that effectively ruined Red Bull’s final hope of salvaging points on home soil.
Bortoleto, meanwhile, quietly continued his standout weekend. The Brazilian moved past Gasly and later benefited from retirements ahead to run comfortably in the points.
Albon’s race ended in retirement, ending a poor weekend for Williams at the 2025 Austrian GP after their earlier success in the season.
Second Stops and Late-Race Pressure
Leclerc began he second round of stops on lap 50, with Hamilton following a lap later. Norris reacted on lap 52, handing the lead briefly to Piastri before the Australian also pitted.
Rejoining behind Colapinto and Tsunoda, Piastri tried to capitalise when the Alpine ran wide. But in doing so, Colapinto forced him onto the grass down to Turn 4. The Argentine was handed a 5-second penalty.
Undeterred, Piastri charged after Norris, closing the gap down to under two seconds with ten laps remaining. At the same time, Norris was advised of minor front wing damage, adding an extra layer of jeopardy in the closing stages
Norris Only Just Seals the 2025 Austrian GP
Despite Piastri’s relentless pace, Norris held firm. The Briton managed the gap, crossing the line 2.6 seconds clear. He now sits 15 points behind Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship.
Leclerc claimed the final podium spot, with teammate Hamilton behind him in fifth. Russell chased Hamilton, with Lawson and Alonso behind in sixth and seventh, respectively. Bortoleto earned his first top 10 F1 finish in eighth, with teammate Hülkenberg behind him. Ocon rounded out the points for Haas.
What’s Next?
F1 heads to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix from July 4 to 6.
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Main Photo
- Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
- Recording Date: 06/29/2025
