How the Austrian GP cemented F1 2025 as a two-horse race

With a commanding 1-2 finish in Formula 1‘s Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren’s dominant showing in Spielberg has cemented the Drivers’ title as a two-horse race.

To paraphrase the words of the great Julie Andrews: The hills were alive, with the sight of papaya.

And it certainly was at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, as McLaren romped home to a fourth 1-2 of the 2025 campaign, to quite literally run rings around its rivals.

In what ultimately proved to be a clean display of racing between the two, putting to bed its intra-team Canada woes, Lando Norris led Oscar Piastri home to extend what now looks to be an unassailable lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

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And with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen punted out of contention by Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the start, both Norris and Piastri have pulled clear of the reigning World Champion, prompting the team’s advisor Helmut Marko to say its title charge was “over” amid a “black day” for Verstappen.

So relentless was McLaren’s dominance, the Milton Keynes-based squad’s Team Principal Christian Horner said that the MCL39’s tyre management was so good that it allowed Piastri to “make love” to Norris’ exhaust, evidently proving that it can still hold its rubber better than any other team’s car can.

McLaren hesitant to discount Verstappen’s challenge

Verstappen had been holding in there via a number of brilliant performances and the odd blip from McLaren, Canada being a case in point, which gave a real indication that a classic trend of the outsider battling the two team-mates steaming in and snatching the title was still on.

But Verstappen had never really strongly considered himself in a genuine position to win a fifth straight title. In fact, it was everyone else who did.

Just the day before, after qualifying – in which Verstappen started seventh after a yellow flag truncated his final lap – both Norris and Piastri danced around the possibility of him being out of the chase.

“I don’t think we’re ever – until he’s out of the race – I don’t think we’re ever going to take Max out of the equation,” Norris said.

“It’s still a very long season. So, I think people just need to chill out a little bit.”

“I don’t have that much to add, but I think at this point of the year, it’s still too early to rule out Max. I agree,” Piastri added.

Can any other team challenge McLaren?

If Red Bull is out, then what about Ferrari?

The Scuderia brought a number of new upgrades on the SF-25’s much-maligned floor, and for the most part, they appeared to work, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton taking third and fourth, respectively.

However, in truth, there were still problems, with both men heeding orders from the pit wall to lift and coast their cars for fear of excessive plank wear, an issue which has plagued the car all season, forcing the engineers to race it at a ride height much higher than desired.

Leclerc finished nearly 20 seconds off Norris at the finish, with Hamilton a further 10 seconds behind.

There is still work to be done back at Maranello, and if wins are going to come, it feels as if they will prove to be nothing but mere consolations.

So, then. Mercedes?

The scorching sun that glowed over the Styrian mountains on race day melted the W16’s tyres, and its chances. George Russell, riding the crest of a wave after his Canada win, could barely ride a ripple in his bathwater this time around, finishing a further 30 seconds behind Hamilton, and only just five ahead of the a rejuvenated Liam Lawson, the two men the last ones on the track to finish on the same lap.

Antonelli, therefore, would have most likely been stuck in a battle for the merer points places had he not t-boned Verstappen at the start, and the mistake, which he fully owned-up to to the media – and to Verstappen upon immediately exiting the car – proves that there are still some rookie kinks that need ironing out.

With Norris and Piastri now enjoying a bigger buffer to Verstappen than before, their biggest threat is each other, and after the drama of Canada, bums will no doubt be squeaky on the team’s pit wall.

But even a repeat line-fluffing which could see Norris and/or Piastri exit stage left would still see the pair able to enjoy an advantage that would most likely be unattainable to any willing challenger.

It’s not quite 1988 levels of dominance, but with the halfway point and the summer break approaching, McLaren is now firmly in the driving seat to roll back the years and re-establish itself as not just a dominant team, but able to back that up with a first Drivers’ title in 17 years.

They won’t like to admit it, but the papaya wave is riding as high as it’s ever been.

READ MORE – Lando Norris fires ‘nothing to prove to anyone’ message after F1 Austrian GP win