After a brief detour to Canada, Formula One was back in Europe for the FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 2025 around the iconic Red Bull Ring.
Carlos Sainz’s day ended before it began, with his Williams getting stuck on the grid. He finally got the car going after the start was aborted. He returned to the pit lane and parked at the exit to prepare for the race start, but both rear brakes caught fire. The team members fought the flames with portable fire extinguishers before pushing the car back into the garage.
As per the regulations, the aborted start meant a ten-minute reset before a second formation lap. Once the team members cleared the grid, it was time to go racing again. Lando Norris got a good launch from pole position, moving over the block Charles Leclerc. This helped Oscar Piastri overtake the Ferrari on the outside of the first corner, turning it into a McLaren 1-2 race.
Further back, Lewis Hamilton overtook George Russell in the third turn, climbing to P4 after his best qualifying result with Ferrari. But the real drama was unfolding directly behind.
Kimi Antonelli suffered a huge lockup under braking for turn three, slamming into the back of Max Verstappen. Neither driver was able to rejoin the race, necessitating the safety car.
The race resumed on the fourth lap. Hamilton was immediately under pressure from Russell. The Mercedes was all over the back of the Ferrari, with Russell having a peek on the inside of turn four. But he was unable to get by.
All eyes quickly moved to the McLaren teammates, who had closed up to each other. Piastri briefly took the lead with DRS on the run to turn three, but Norris did the switchback to get a better run and retake the position into turn four. The two were side-by-side for much of the second sector.
The two drifted apart for a few laps, but a mistake from Norris in the final corners put the two nose-to-tail again. Piastri wasn’t able to mount any serious attack until lap 20. On that lap, Piastri tried to make a very late move into turn four, but had a huge lockup and nearly hit his teammate. Norris retained the position but dove into the pit lane.
Norris rejoined in the clean air ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, who was having a spectacular race for Sauber. Piastri was given the choice to pit immediately or extend his stint to have fresher tyres. Piastri chose the latter, which ended up being four-lap fresher tyres to close up a more than six-second gap.
The newer tyres had little benefit for Piastri, who only managed to close the gap by three seconds on the second stint. Norris again was the first of the duo to pit, rejoining the race in clean air. Piastri responded by pitting on the following lap.
Critically, Piastri left the pit lane behind Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto. It was unfortunate timing for Piastri, as those two drivers were battling. The two had already clashed earlier in the race, resulting in a ten-second penalty after Tsunoda spun Colapinto. This time, Tsunoda overtook Colapinto in turn three. Piastri attempted to overtake the backmarkers on the inside, but couldn’t get by. Piastri was alongside Colapinto on the straight that followed, but was forced onto the grass by the Alpine. That scary moment earned Colapinto a five-second penalty.
Piastri quickly got around the backmarkers, working to close the gap to his teammate as the laps ticked down. His pace was too slow, not managing to get close to his teammate. The closest he got was on the final lap when Norris got stuck behind Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso, who were fighting over points positions. Even still, Piastri didn’t manage to get within DRS range of his teammate.
Norris led the McLaren 1-2, standing on the top step of the podium. Charles Leclerc led a 3-4 finish for Ferrari, who had a relatively lonely race. More impressive was Sauber’s result, finishing with both cars in the points for the first time since Qatar in 2023.
There will be little time to relax, as everyone prepares for the British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone Circuit. The race will be held on July 6.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | 1:23:47.693 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 70 | +2.695 | 18 |  | |
| 3 | 70 | +19.820 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 70 | +29.020 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 70 | +62.396 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 70 | +67.754 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 69 | +1 Lap | 6 | ||
| 8 | 69 | +1 Lap | 4 | ||
| 9 | 69 | +1 Lap | 2 | ||
| 10 | 69 | +1 Lap | 1 | ||
| 11 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 12 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 13 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 14 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 15 | 69 | +1 Lap | |||
| 16 | 68 | +2 Laps | |||
| DNF | 15 | ||||
| DNF | 0 | ||||
| DNF | 0 |
| 1 | O. Piastri | 216 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 201 | -15 | |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | 155 | -61 | |
| 4 | G. Russell | 146 | -70 | |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 119 | -97 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 417 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 210 | -207 |  |
| 3 | Mercedes | 209 | -208 |  |
| 4 | Red Bull | 162 | -255 | |
| 5 | Williams | 55 | -362 | |
