This year’s first true on-track dogfight between McLaren team mates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri last time out in Canada did not end well.
Piastri was the beneficiary of the clash, increasing his championship lead to 22 points thanks to his team mate’s failure to score.Norris admitted he had committed a grave error at the moment his car came to a rest after contact with the pit wall barrier. Now he must show the resilience needed to put the misjudgement behind him and take crucial points out of Piastri’s advantage at the Red Bull Ring.
Here are the talking points for the Austrian Grand Prix…
Norris need to fight back
Over the opening ten rounds of the championship in 2025, there’s been no question of which team has boasted the strongest overall package on the grid: McLaren.
But despite sharing seven grand prix victories, six pole positions and 16 podium finishes between them over the opening half of the season, Piastri and Norris were yet to have a meaningful on-track battle until the last race.
For multiple laps, Piastri successfully held off his more experienced team mate as Norris looked to take his fourth place from him. But with just four laps remaining, Norris tried to stick to draw alongside the other McLaren to claim the inside line for the first corner. But a critical misjudgement from last year’s championship runner-up saw him instead drive into the back of his team mate.
The only saving grace for Norris was that he retired and Piastri continued. Norris took full responsibility for the incident, immediately apologising to Piastri in the paddock after the race.
Piastri was gracious in accepting the apology, although there was little reason for him to be upset given how much the clash benefited him in the championship. Although Piastri finished off the podium in a frustrating weekend for McLaren, the championship leader still arrives in Austria this week with a 22-point advantage over his team mate.
McLaren and Norris will both be eager to bounce back at the Red Bull Ring. But last year’s Austrian Grand Prix was one of the most frustrating weekends of the season for the Woking team.
Norris lost a potential victory after a controversial clash with Verstappen in the later stages of the grand prix. Piastri was left ruing the loss of what could have been his first grand prix victory after his best qualifying time was deleted by the stewards, dropping him from a potential third on the grid to seventh. He finished the race second behind winner Russell, who picked up the lead after Verstappen and Norris’s late race skirmish.
Verstappen and Russell to resume their rivalry?
But in the last two rounds in Spain and Canada, Verstappen hasn’t been involved in incidents with the McLaren drivers, but Mercedes’ George Russell.
After the Red Bull driver’s ugly on-track lunge at Russell in the closing laps of the Spanish Grand Prix led to him being punished with a 10-second penalty, the pair met again on the front row of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve two weekends ago. They both played a sensible game at the start, with the Mercedes keeping ahead of the world champion, but Verstappen did not allow Russell to enjoy an easy race, never letting his lead grow to four seconds outside of the pit cycle all the way until the late Safety Car in the closing laps.
But only once the race result was secured did the drama begin between the pair. As they followed the Safety Car along the back straight, Verstappen appeared to briefly move in front of the leader for a moment, with Russell wasting no time in reporting the potential infraction to his team. With Verstappen just one penalty point away from copping an automatic one race ban, an infuriated Red Bull team saw Russell hitting the brakes on the straight as a deliberate attempt to bait their driver into a ban. They retaliated by lodging a protest of Russell with the stewards after the race – only to have it dismissed after the stewards determined that there had been no erratic driving by the Mercedes driver.
Having clashed in more ways than one in recent rounds, the two will be the focus of attention again over the next two weekends. First at Red Bull’s home circuit in Austria, a track that has been effectively a second home race for Verstappen in his F1 career, and then next weekend at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Russell will likely enjoy strong support from the local fans.
Whether the two will meet on track again this weekend will likely come down to how strong their respective cars perform around the Red Bull Ring. However the high track temperatures often seen at the high altitude circuit don’t flatter Mercedes’ car.
How many last chances for Colapinto?
“The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different and after this time period we will assess our options,” team consultant Flavio Briatore said at the time.
He has subsequently suggested Alpine’s deadline is a little softer than that. Nonetheless, just six weeks on from that announcement, Colapinto has already reached the final race of his originally stated tenure. While there are very few signs that Alpine are planning to call back Doohan for a second go in the car or even offer another driver a chance to race alongside Pierre Gasly, Colapinto’s future remains unconfirmed at this point.
Taking over a car mid-season is a challenge for any driver. So far, Colapinto’s results have largely matched that of Doohan’s. They have both achieved a best grand prix finishing position of 13th – twice for Colapinto in Monaco and Canada – meaning neither of them have scored a point in the championship thus far.
Both drivers also have a 50% Q2 progression rate in grand prix qualifying sessions and have each out-qualified far more experienced team mate Gasly a single time each, although Doohan had two additional attempts to do so than Colapinto. But when it comes to grands prix, Colapinto has one thing over Doohan: He has reached the chequered flag ahead of Gasly. Last time out in Canada, Colapinto came home in 13th place after spending the majority of the grand prix as the lead Alpine. However, this was helped significantly by Gasly starting from the pit lane after failing to progress beyond Q1.
At the first of several tracks Colapinto knows well, he will be fighting to prove he should remain in his car into Silverstone and beyond. A strong performance relative to Gasly would go a long way towards keeping him on the grid.
Taking it to the limit
It came to a head in farcical fashion in 2023, when well over 100 laps set during the grand prix were deleted due to drivers running wide at the exits of corners – particularly the final two fast right-handers at the end of the lap. It led to a swathe of post-race penalties.
Something needed to change – and it did for last year’s event. The introduction of thin strips of gravel just beyond the white lines at the exits of several corners on the circuit proved to be an incredibly effective solution. While far from eliminating instances of drivers exceeding track limits – with 16 times deleted during the grand prix – there was just a single penalty for a driver breaking track limits on four or more occasions.
The efforts of the Red Bull Ring and FIA drew rare praise from a field of drivers who were now much happier to have a clearer and more natural solution to track limits. One that also provided them an obvious incentive to stay the right side of the white lines.
But it was not without some criticism, however. The typically unflappable Piastri made little effort to hide his disgust after having his best qualifying time in Q3 deleted after he was deemed to have run wide at the fast left-hander at turn six. A decision taken due to evidence from an overhead helicopter camera angle that the McLaren driver described as being “pretty questionable resolution”. The stewards’ decision to admit the evidence was contentious as it appeared to contradict a precedent set less than 12 months earlier.
Although track limits are, thankfully, unlikely to be the biggest talking point of the weekend, drivers still cannot afford to play too fast and loose with the exits of the Red Bull Ring’s quick corners this weekend. Expect to see a repositioning of the line at turn six to bring it closer to the gravel trap, as has happened at many other circuits.
Normal service resumed
Unlike 2022, 2023 and 2024, there will be no Saturday sprint race at the Red Bull Ring this weekend. Instead, drivers will have the rare luxury of three full hours of practice to validate updates and dial in their set-ups for the race on Sunday.
That will be no great loss to many fans tuning in to watch the action this weekend. It also looks likely to be a gain for inexperienced drivers, as McLaren have already announced they will use the opportunity to run rookie Alex Dunne.
With the same tyre compounds – C3, C4 and C5 – nominated for this weekend, teams are unlikely to need three hours of practice time to be prepared for Sunday’s grand prix. But whether that will affect the kind of grid we see at the end of Saturday remains to be seen.
The following feature presentation…
There are already plenty of impressions of the ambitious film project from critics and F1 figures alike – with RaceFans’ review coming after the weekend – but whether you’re in Spielberg for the event or watching along from home, you can expect to see plenty of promotion for the film across all three days of track action.
Are you going to the Austrian Grand Prix?
If you’re heading to Austria for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you:
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the Austrian Grand Prix? Have your say below.
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2025 Austrian Grand Prix
- Wiping Verstappen out in Austria wasn’t as bad as Monza debut crash – Antonelli
- Piastri explains “f*** me up” radio message after third run-in with an Alpine at Austrian GP
- Bortoleto admits he made a “mistake” in fight with “very smart” Alonso at Austrian GP
- Tsunoda on longest point-less run for a Red Bull driver in 16 years: Austrian GP stats
- “Confused” Russell couldn’t tell if Leclerc was “trying to help me or Lewis” at start
Ankita
24th June 2025, 8:00
Is there some bias against Colapinto in this article ? The argument for being matched with Doohan is too formalistic. Doohan had a whole preseason to familiarize himself with a difficult car. He made unacceptable (costly) mistakes such as the creash in Suzuka. Then the article downplays that Colapinto beat Gasly in Canada: “However, this was helped significantly by Gasly starting from the pit lane after failing to progress beyond Q1”. This should be read differently: “Gasly started from the pit lane because (unlike Colapinto) he failed to progress beyond Q1”.
Admittedly, I was expecting something else from Colapinto. But he has shown a lot more than Doohan. To put it differently, I see potential in Colapinto; I just don’t see it in Doohan.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th June 2025, 15:22
Pointing out that Gasly failed to get out of Q1 is somehow doing Colapinto down? That’s quite a stretch.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th June 2025, 17:09
@keithcollantine Ultimately, even if Gasly started in his original starting position instead of Alpine voluntarily electing to exceed CE & ES allocations, he would’ve still finished lower in the race due to the DRS train effect in the midfield.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th June 2025, 17:15
Ankita I couldn’t agree more & even though Colapinto’s brightest shine went away further into his nine-GP stint, especially in the late-season phase when he made costly unforced errors, he’s indeed shown comparatively more than Doohan, not to mention he has a strong sponsor backing & is strongly marketable, which make him pretty safe unless he ends up giving excessively strong justification for sacking.
Regarding Doohan specifically, he certainly made quite a few unacceptable costly mistakes, especially in Suzuka, where he was bound to have the accident he had at T1 even if he’d driven in FP1, in which case it would’ve simply happened a session earlier since he was determined to try his luck with DRS activated through T1 just because he managed to do so in the simulator.
Mayrton
24th June 2025, 8:25
He always rebounds. He is a good driver. One of the better ones out there. But he will probably never display the consistency required to go for a championship.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
24th June 2025, 12:56
He is going for this one
Jungle
24th June 2025, 10:08
Norris performs well here so I thinks its the perfect track to get his confidence and season back on an even keel.
Absolutely love this track. The undulation, the green meadows and an all round euphoric atmosphere. Certain element of magic to it. Speed on the limit. Been some epic battles over the years also right back to Montoya/Schumacher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUeuSVvS5oM
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
24th June 2025, 10:50
Norris needs to stop mucking about in quali and deliver pole. Clean weekend and head will be back in gear. He race pace is great but he gives himself too much work to do.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th June 2025, 11:06
Norris need to fight back – Definitely, but achieving that is another matter.
I still think Piastri is the most likely to win this season’s championship in the end.
Verstappen and Russell to resume their rivalry? – Maybe, maybe not.
Mercedes mightn’t necessarily even be as competitive as in Montreal, but we’ll see.
How many last chances for Colapinto? – Briatore later made clear that he doesn’t set any race amounts for timeline purposes, not to mention more recently in a quite blunt manner that all these rumors are unfounded & ultimately Colapinto won’t get sacked easily thanks to his strong sponsor backing & marketability, not to mention Doohan won’t get another full-time chance with them or otherwise he wouldn’t have been dropped in the first place because F1 organizations typically don’t give a second chance to demoted or sacked drivers for a reason.
Taking it to the limit – Probably a similar story to last season’s edition as a whole.
Normal service resumed – This return to the standard format might only be a temporary thing, but good that at least McLaren (& Ferrari) will use the opportunity provided by the standard format return for fulfilling purposes since Red Bull Ring is one of the most suitable circuits for the purpose with the standard format.
The following feature presentation… – The promotion will most likely be visible in trackside advertisement form, if anything, & I’ve never got the idea that the lead-up or wait to Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (which premiered in May 1999 to be precise) would’ve felt like the longest ever for people generally.
Simon
24th June 2025, 21:03
“fulfilling purposes”
“Red Bull Ring is one of the most suitable circuits for the purpose”
of… what???
Jere (@jerejj)
25th June 2025, 6:46
A non-regular driving in a practice session. That should be obvious to everyone, given the context.
Mr Squiggle
24th June 2025, 12:00
Colapinto doesn’t need to do better than Doohan to retain the seat.
If Colapinto and Doohan are even on performance, roughly 50/50 on stats, then the money will decide the issue and Colapinto will keep the seat
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th June 2025, 7:29
In that case it was purely a money-driven decision, not a good look for alpine, who already had a bad reputation (of someone incapable of making a good car).
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
24th June 2025, 12:36
Obviously it’s still fairly early in the season but it won’t do for Norris to fall more than a whole win’s worth of points behind Piastri i.e. 25 points or more. Norris needs to outscore Piastri at least or preferably, from his point of view win the race. I still think that all things considered so far, it looks like Piastri is the more likely champion in the end. He just seems to be able to handle the pressure better and be more consistent.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
24th June 2025, 13:01
F1 the Movie has had more trailers than North Carolina but its a bit of fun and i look forward to tutting my way through it.
I love the ‘are you going to XXX race’ but its criminally underused on here. Its really useful for first timers to a track, particularly if you are spending the whole week camping and drinking at a circuit.
David BR (@david-br)
24th June 2025, 13:06
I’m not so sure. Had Norris’s car survived the collision and taken out Piastri (a) this weekend and maybe the championship would be much spicier and (b) maybe Norris actually needs some controversy and questionable driving from himself (as in ‘did he do that on purpose?’) to shake up the current pattern. Last season Piastri had no qualms about shoving Norris aside at race starts when it was supposedly Norris versus Verstappen for the championship for a brief moment mid season. I’m sure some will praise Norris’s ‘fair play’ and the intra-team harmony, arguing that he can win the title without any ruptures within the team. I think that favours Piastri. It should be remembered that even as late as last season, Norris was signalled in various ways as McLaren’s chosen number one driver with Piastri inheriting Ricciardo’s ‘support driver’ role, whatever the claims of team equality. Not any more. They are definitely equal in team terms with McLaren probably thinking much the same as most spectators outside the team: Oscar seems likely to make fewer mistakes and win the title. So that pattern needs to be shaken up. Either Norris needs two or three race weekends where he’s clearly ahead of Piastri in qualifying and the race, ideally winning, to turn this season round. Or he finds some effective way of imposing himself. In Canada, he arguably left it too late to force his way past Piastri and chose the wrong place to do so. But he can use the cunning and racecraft he tends to show mid-race when passing rivals at race starts or the end of races. A surprise aggressive pass on Piastri or any other driver off the line would put some question marks in their minds. Right now, I doubt many or any other drivers worry about what Norris might do. He’s not a threat. Risky? Yes. But that’s kind of the point.
What I’d really like to see is Mercedes fast again and Russell (and Antonelli) posing a problem to the McLarens. And that might be the kind of disruption Norris actually needs.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
24th June 2025, 17:47
NOR races PIA harder than he races VER.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
24th June 2025, 19:48
That’s a good call