News / 30 June 2025 / Staff Writer

2025 Austrian Grand Prix – McLaren dominance resumes while Verstappen crashes out

Lando Norris beat teammate Oscar Piastri to the chequered flag in what was a dominant 1-2 performance for the McLaren F1 team in Austria.

Rounding out the top three was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who comfortably beat teammate Lewis Hamilton to the final podium spot.

Meanwhile, a lap one incident between Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and reigning F1 Drivers Champion Max Verstappen took both men out of the race – opening up opportunities for big points for mid-table drivers.

The key highlights of the race are detailed, below.

Norris vs Piastri headlines the day

On a day where no team could match up to McLaren, the two papaya drivers ensured that fans following the battle for the race lead were not left disappointed.

Piastri jumped from third to second place at turn one by overtaking Leclerc, and then proceeded to put his teammate Norris’ lead in serious jeopardy throughout both drivers’ first stints.

In fact, Piastri even managed to get past Norris at one point – but Norris then used DRS to claw back first spot within seconds.

A second, hairier overtake attempt saw Piastri lock up and almost send both McLarens out of the race, with the team quickly telling Piastri that such moves were not appropriate.

Norris finally got some breathing room when he pitted first, and by the time Piastri left the pits at the end of the next lap, the gap between the two had increased to about 6.5 seconds.

Piastri continuously attempted to claw back at his teammate, but ultimately fell short of beating his teammate – finishing under 3 seconds behind Norris.

Antonelli takes out Verstappen

Early in lap one, the drama levels rose significantly when the reigning Drivers Champion was eliminated from the race.

Kimi Antonelli took the inside line among a clump of cars, seemingly surprised at how early those in front of him had braked.

This led to him locking up his tyres and being unable to rotate the car through the apex, instead clattering into the innocent Verstappen.

The incident brought out a safety car as neither Verstappen nor Antonelli could get their cars running again.

Big points for midfield performers

With Antonelli and Verstappen both out – and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda having a nightmare performance that ultimately saw him finish last of those who completed the race – big points were on offer to those who stepped up.

Liam Lawson, the former Red Bull driver now seated in a Racing Bull, claimed 6th place and sent a serious message to his doubters.

He was followed by the evergreen Fernando Alonso in an Aston Martin, while Kick Sauber will be delighted with their double-points finish – Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg finishing in eighth and ninth respectively.

The last points scorer was Esteban Ocon of Haas.

Notable by their absence among the points were the two Williams drivers – but this was because they were the other two drivers not to finish the race.

Carlos Sainz did not start the race at all. He was first unable to leave the grid for the formation lap, and then once he did get the car going and into the pits, his brakes caught fire, leading to Williams pulling him from the race.

Alexander Albon, meanwhile, retired the car 15 laps in due to technical troubles.