Lando Norris clinches Austrian GP in McLaren one-two finish
Reigning champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement of season
SPIELBERG: Lando Norris clinched the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two on Sunday after holding off championship leader and teammate Oscar Piastri.
Norris kept Piastri behind in a thrilling 20-lap battle in the early moments of the race and later held his nerves under pressure to secure his third victory of the season.
The Briton's victory cut Australian Piastri's championship lead from 22 to 15 points with 13 races of the season left, with the two McLaren drivers increasingly in a battle of their own.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished third, with teammate Lewis Hamilton fourth and George Russell fifth for Mercedes.
Reigning champion Red Bull's Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement of the season, following a first-lap collision with Mercedes' Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli.
Verstappen, who is third on the drivers' table, is now 61 points behind Piastri.
"Tricky, hot, tiring. A lot of stress but a lot of fun. A nice battle, so well done to Oscar,” Norris said after stepping out of the car at the finish.
"Hopefully it was a nice one for everyone to watch but inside the car it was tough, especially when he was in DRS (drag reduction range)," he added.
Piastri, who overtook second place from Leclerc after an aborted first start, went on to set the fastest lap of the race.
He took the lead on lap 11 in an intense contest, but Norris took it back in a duel that nearly caused a repeat of the collision between the two at the previous race in Canada.
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson took the sixth position, which was his career best, with Fernando Alonso seventh for Aston Martin -- the Spaniard finishing ahead of the Brazilian rookie he manages, Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto.
The points were Bortoleto's first in F1, with his teammate Nico Hulkenberg also finishing ninth.
Esteban Ocon took the final point for Haas.
McLaren are 207 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, who moved back up to second with Mercedes just one point behind them.
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