Lando Norris has claimed that his “stressful” battle with team-mate Oscar Piastri in Formula 1‘s Austrian Grand Prix will help McLaren move past the clash in Canada.
Norris led home team-mate Piastri as McLaren managed a 1-2 at the Red Bull Ring to cap a momentous weekend that saw him top all the sessions he participated in.
The Briton maintained the lead on the opening tour, but Piastri, having made a pivotal move on Charles Leclerc at the start, was able to live with his team-mate’s pace.
Piastri seemed to have snatched the spot with an overtake at Turn 3 on Lap 11 until Norris cut back underneath and utilised the DRS to hold the inside line into Turn 4.
The Australian came close to wiping both cars out with a lunge that saw him lock up into Turn 4 nine laps later, a “marginal” move that he was warned not to replicate.
That would prove to be the last attack that Piastri mounted as a later pitstop than Norris gave him too much ground to make up, crossing the line 2.6 seconds behind.
“Crossing the line at the end, that was the best bit,” Norris expressed to media including Motorsport Week.
“But there was plenty of fun along the way with Oscar in the first stint especially. Some close moments, some good battles.
“Just a lot of laps of looking in my mirrors out of Turn 1 and all the way down to Turn 3.
“It was stressful for sure. Not the most comfortable position to be in.
“Oscar kept coming at me the next two stints. Good fun, but a tricky race, but well managed.”
Norris glad to endure clean Piastri battle
Norris admitted he was relieved that he and Piastri went wheel-to-wheel without colliding to quell the commotion surrounding their clash at the last race in Montreal.
“We had some good battles. We’ve had a couple in the past,” he highlighted. “Granted, they probably didn’t last as long as they did this weekend.
“No, I think we both knew what to expect from each other. We both want to race hard and race fair. It goes both ways.
“We have to put Montreal behind us and behind me for sure. It’s something I wish never happened.
“It was nice that we could go out and have a good battle and push things to their limits.
“There were some close moments, but nothing that would make Andrea [Stella, McLaren Team Principal] or the pit wall sweat too much.”
How the duel altered McLaren’s original race plan
Norris divulged that his initial pitstop on Lap 20 arrived earlier than scheduled due to the amount he was having to push to ensure that he retained priority over Piastri.
“I knew what our pit stop window was going to be. I was like, there’s no chance we’re going to make it to the pit stop here,” he recalled.
“I was [pushing flat out], because Oscar was pushing too.
“I think we knew quite quickly that we weren’t racing the Ferraris behind. We had a quick race car. It was kind of eyes forward.
“This first stint was difficult because I couldn’t get my battery up. It was a quite strategic part of the race. I was always vulnerable for those reasons.
“As soon as I did the pit stop, I could get the battery back up for the first time. Then I could be a little bit more comfortable.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris resists Oscar Piastri to head McLaren 1-2 in Austria
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