Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix - Styria 2025
STARTING GRID:
1) NORRIS 2) LECLERC 3) PIASTRI 4) HAMILTON 5) RUSSELL 6) LAWSON 7) VERSTAPPEN 8) BORTOLETO 9) ANTONELLI 10) GASLY 11) ALONSO 12) ALBON 13) HADJAR 14) COLAPINTO 15) BEARMAN 16) STROLL 17) OCON 18) TSUNODA 19) SAINZ 20) HULKENBERG
FORMATION LAP: As the rest of the field moved away, Carlos Sainz remained in his spot on the grid. He reported issues with the car that prevented him from moving as he tried to get going. As the rest of the cars returned to the grid, Sainz was able to get the car moving.
Due to this incident the start procedure was delayed by 10 minutes as per the regulations. Sainz then returned to the pits, stopping on the pit exit. However, as he did that his rear brakes caught fire. The Williams mechanics and track marshals quickly moved in to extinguish the fire. Although the fire was put out the car was brought back to the pits and Sainz was told it was “game over” and had to retire the car.
A nightmare start for Williams who have been plagued with problems over the last number of races. With another car not starting the race and later on Alex Albon also had to retire from the race as it went from bad to worse for James Vowles and the WIlliams team.
LAP 1: Into the first corner, a good start off the line from Norris as he remained in the lead. A move around the outside from Piastri on Leclerc to overtake him and move into 2nd place. George Russell managed to get past Hamilton on the restart but was under pressure going into turn 3 as Hamilton went up the inside and took back P4.
At the same corner of turn 3, Antonelli seemed to mistime his braking into the corner, with a big lock up at the rear of his car. It seemed he was always going to take someone out, the unlucky driver was Max Verstappen who was taken out and spun around. Both drivers had to retire from the race due to the damage on both cars. Not what either driver or team would have wanted in terms of the Driver or Constructors Championships.
The battle continued between former teammates Russell and Hamilton but a Safety Car put a stop to that. As the lead cars made it to turn 8 and 9 the SC was deployed to ensure the safest possible way to clear the incident between Antonelli and Verstappen. Both drivers seemed to have a discussion as they exited their cars with no seeming animosity between the two. Both exited the cars with ease and all safe which was the most important thing.
LAP 11: Following the Safety Car restart, Oscar Piastri was able to keep in the DRS gap of Norris for multiple laps. Lap 11 was the first time Piastri managed to get close enough to try an overtake on Norris, which he did going into turn 3.
Lando went onto the inside in defence mode, but Piastri went on the outside and managed to get past briefly. However, Lando with the switch back managed to get better traction on the exit as he moved back past Piastri between turns 3 and 4.
The battle continued in the next corners even in the tighter corners, Piastri tried to move on the inside even in the corners as his efforts to take the lead continued but he was unsuccessful on this occasion.
LAP 12: Further back in the field, the battle for 7th continued between Gasly and Bortoleto. The Brazilian driver made a smart move on the inside of turn 4 to move ahead in his pursuit for his first points in Formula 1.
A good start to the afternoon for the Sauber driver as he continued his race with more progress to be made and smart driving needed to ensure his first points.
LAP 15: Another battle in the middle of the field was between Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll. Another move between drivers was made by Tsunoda into turn 3, but on the exit he did make contact with Stroll. He did keep the place with being ahead on the exit helping in his favour in the battle for 10th.
LAP 17: As earlier mentioned the day went from bad to worse for Williams on this lap as they retired their only remaining car. Following a pit stop for Albon they had to return the car to the pits and retire the car.
A nightmare for the Williams team who have had such a productive start to the season had an alarming amount of problems in the recent races with a number of retirements and poor performances. The hope will be that they can turn around their season again as soon as possible.
LAP 20: Once again into turn 4 between the top 2 of both McLaren’s, Piastri was moving closer to Norris again. As it moved closer to the pit window, it seemed that both drivers wanted to be first to pit.
Piastri seemed to move closer and closer to Norris, moving once again to the inside as he looked to take the lead. As he tried a last ditch effort he locked up and almost made contact with his teammate. The lock up led to a flat spot on the tyres of Piastri as Norris pitted shortly after. Piastri was later told by the pit wall that the move “was too marginal, we can’t do that again”.
LAP 31: Once again Yuki Tsunoda is in amongst the action as he and Colapinto battle for 13th. Into turn 3, late braking helped Colapinto to move ahead of the Red Bull which Tsunoda seemed to be trying to get back. He tried the same move in the next corner but ended up going too deep and made contact with the rear tyre of Colapinto. This resulted in a spin for Colapinto and damage to the front wing of the Red Bull.
In the end it was Tsunoda that came out worse from the exchange as he had to pit for a new front wing along with a 10 second penalty for the incident. Not a great afternoon for the Red Bull team in their home race.
LAP 54: The final pit stop for Piastri put him just over 3 seconds away from the race leader in Lando Norris. With 16 laps for him to try and narrow the gap as quickly as he could. A quick pit stop aided Piastri with 2.0 seconds stationary for the Aussie as he was released back into the race.
A super quick pit stop for McLaren as they didn’t have it all their way in terms of pit stops with earlier slower pit stops, but a strong end to the race in that department will increase confidence levels throughout the team.
As Piastri made it to turn 3 he was caught in traffic and in the battle between Tsunoda and Colapinto. With both of the ahead drivers needing to let Piastri through it was as easy for Piastri as the exit of turn 3 led to him being pushed onto the grass by Colapinto. With Tsunoda moving ahead it seemed Colapinto wanted to get in the slipstream of the Red Bull but did not realise how close Piastri was. Disaster was avoided with quick thinking of Piastri. A 5 second penalty followed for Colapinto for forcing another driver off the track.
LAP 57: The afternoon continued to be good for Sauber as Bortoleto moved into 8th ahead of Hadjar into turn 3. A strong showing from the F2 Champion and F1 rookie as he looked to be on course for his first points in F1.
LAP 58: On the next lap, the day got better for Sauber as Nico Hulkenberg overtook Hadjar with an almost identical move. Both Sauber were now in the top 9, with a collective good showing as they took advantage of others misfortunes in the Grand Prix.
LAP 69: As the race entered its last laps, Bortoleto tried his luck against his Manager in Fernando Alonso. He continued to gain on the Aston Martin and tried his best to seek a move when possible. Ultimately, he had to settle for 8th behind Alonso but a great drive nonetheless from Bortoleto which Alonso would surely be happy with regardless.
LAP 70: Despite some last ditch attacks from Piastri, it appeared too late in the race for Piastri to get close enough to Lando to make a move. A return to the top step of the podium for Lando Norris, with a win margin of over 2.5 seconds in the end. A terrific result for Lando as he closes the gap on his teammate in the Driver’s Championship.
A fight that was well fought by Piastri but he was unable to make a lasting impression to challenge for the victory in Austria. Regardless of the victory, another large points haul for McLaren will be well received by the absent Zak Brown.
Although they didn’t seem to get close to McLaren with a lengthy gap between them, Ferrari took home 3rd and 4th with more valuable points scored. Even though the first place in the Constructors title already seems out of reach, the 2nd spot is still very much up for grabs. This result allowed for Ferrari to overtake Mercedes into 2nd place by just 1 point as the battle heats up going into Silverstone next week.
A respectable 5th place for George Russell with a solid performance for the only Mercedes to finish the race. An unfortunate end to the race for Antonelli but a learning experience for the Rookie in his first season. Unfortunately for him he was also handed a 3-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix at Silverstone, which will set him and Mercedes back in the important weekend ahead.
The Racing Bulls and Aston Martin will be happy with their points for the weekend with Lawson and Alonso taking 6th and 7th. With a good streak of points for the Aston Martin team in recent weeks by Fernando Alonso in particular. Liam Lawson helped the Racing Bulls to get more points on the board and showed again that Red Bull may have made a mistake demoting him so quickly into the season.
A double points finish for Sauber in a terrific showing from both drivers. Especially from Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto who kept his head and continued his way through the field throughout the afternoon. A Driver Of The Day award also followed for the Brazilian driver, which was well deserved. Nico Hulkenberg with another strong performance for the Sauber team to get both drivers comfortably in the points.
The top 10 was rounded out by the Haas of Estaban Ocon. Another points finish for Haas even if it is only the single point it can always help come the end of the season. Also with both drivers 10th and 11th it can help to take momentum into the next Grand Prix weekend next week.
Going into Silverstone, it will be interesting to see if the McLaren’s dominate again and if so which of the drivers will come out on top. Another point being if Verstappen will be back in the hunt for a win or whether Russell can carry his momentum from Canada into his home race.
The Ferrari’s will have good momentum going into the weekend but considering their gap to McLaren they may also be wondering what they need to do to close this gap as soon as possible.
The mid field will be up for grabs with the points places always up for grabs in an always eventful Grand Prix from Silverstone. Many teams could end up with more opportunities than was once thought but these teams will have to take these chances with both hands with the Constructors Title very much heating up between most teams and their places in the rankings.
All to play for going into Silverstone next week.
RACE RESULT:
1) NORRIS 2) PIASTRI 3) LECLERC 4) HAMILTON 5) RUSSELL 6) LAWSON 7) ALONSO 8) BORTOLETO 9) HULKENBERG 10) OCON 11) BEARMAN 12) HADJAR 13) GASLY 14) STROLL 15) COLAPINTO 16) TSUNODA 17) ALBON (DNF) 18) VERSTAPPEN (DNF) 19) ANTONELLI (DNF) 20) SAINZ (DNF)
