Tag Archives: Racing Bulls

2026 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Mercedes still setting early season pace as Antonelli nails down second consecutive pole, Russell starts P2 at Suzuka; McLaren back in the mix with Piastri P3, Norris P5; Ferrari’s Leclerc P4

Flush with the confidence of his first Formula 1 win two weeks ago in China, Mercedes’ rising young star Kimi Antonelli made it two poles in a row with a superb effort at the always challenging Suzuka Circuit during Saturday Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. The 19-year-old was able to get just that much more out of his Silver Arrow than his veteran teammate George Russell, to the tune of nearly three-tenths on their fastest respective laps set midway through Q3. To be fair, Russell seemed to struggle all day with an issue with his rear stability throughout quali and, additionally, the track seemed to deteriorate somewhat toward the end of the final round with regards to overall grip. Nevertheless, the current points leader will be keen to retake the momentum from his precocious Mercedes teammate and beat him off the line come race day.

McLaren showed some tentative signs of regaining their footing after a fairly disastrous opening two rounds, with Oscar Piastri a ways away from the Mercs but still good enough for P3 and the second row and teammate and reigning World Champion Lando Norris just off the Aussie’s pace in P5. The specter of mechanical gremlins still hovers over team Papaya, however, as Norris’s car spent nearly all of Free Practice 3 in the garage with a software/battery communication issue plaguing their new power plant. It will be critical that both McLarens run a full race distance in Sunday’s GP no matter where they end up finishing, lest these initial severe teething problems threaten to derail their 2026 campaign, while Mercedes and Ferrari take the opportunity to bury them.

Speaking of Ferrari, Charles Leclerc looked to be on the ragged edge of adhesion pretty much all race weekend so far. But the Monegasque still managed to wring the neck of his SF-26 to the tune of the fourth fastest time, splitting the McLaren’s on the grid. Scuderia teammate Lewis Hamilton was about a tenth and a half slower and slotted in behind Norris in P6. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly came from seemingly nowhere to post an impressive final time good enough for P7, which bodes well for both driver and team after the Frenchman’s impressive sixth place finish in the previous Chinese GP. Red Bull’s new promotion for this year, Isack Hadjar, earned P8, bettering his more decorated stablemate Max Verstappen, who struggled with an unruly mount on his way to an underwhelming P12 and early exit in Q2. The Dutch Master’s mood about the current state of F1 was certainly not improved after he called his RB22 “undriveable” yet again, his new favorite adjective. On the other hand, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoletto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad seemed more than pleased with the new formula, the young guns slotting in at P9 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese Grand Prix:

CLA DRIVER # LAPS TIME INTERVAL TYRES KM/H
1 A. AntonelliMercedes 12 15

1’28.778

 S 235.477
2 G. RussellMercedes 63 21

+0.298

1’29.076

 0.298 S 234.689
3 O. PiastriMcLaren 81 20

+0.354

1’29.132

 0.056 S 234.542
4 C. LeclercFerrari 16 18

+0.627

1’29.405

 0.273 S 233.825
5 L. NorrisMcLaren 1 20

+0.631

1’29.409

 0.004 S 233.815
6 L. HamiltonFerrari 44 20

+0.789

1’29.567

 0.158 S 233.402
7 P. GaslyAlpine 10 18

+0.913

1’29.691

 0.124 S 233.080
8 I. HadjarRed Bull Racing 6 17

+1.200

1’29.978

 0.287 S 232.336
9 G. BortoletoAudi 5 20

+1.496

1’30.274

 0.296 S 231.574
10 A. LindbladRacing Bulls 41 21

+1.541

1’30.319

 0.045 S 231.459

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live on Apple TV beginning at 1 AM Eastern here in the States. Can McLaren really get their mojo back and take the fight to mighty Mercedes or can Leclerc and Ferrari pull an epic upset?  Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2026 F1 Grand Prix of Australia — Qualifying results

Russell inaugurates Formula 1’s new era with pole in Melbourne, Antonelli P2 as Mercedes’ lock out front row for Round 1; Hadjar surges to P3 on Red Bull debut but Verstappen crashes out in Q1

Formula 1’s new era debuted in earnest when the expanded 22-car grid lined up for qualifying hot laps on Saturday at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia to kick off the 2026 season and set the grid for the Round 1 Australian Grand Prix. With entirely new regulations leading to shorter, lighter cars, as well as a 50-50 split between the internal combustion unit and battery power forcing drivers to alter their driving styles by lifting into corners to recharge, the Mercedes factory team claimed the early lead in getting to grips with the new formula. After looking like a three-way battle between the Silver Arrows, reigning champs McLaren and the very hungry Scuderia Ferrari squad, Mercedes dusted the competition on one-lap pace, with senior driver George Russell claiming pole in the opening salvo of the quest for his first World Championship and teammate and second year man Kimi Antonelli recovering from a big shunt in Free Practice 3 to slot into P2 on the grid. The young Italian pilot owes a huge debt of gratitude to his mechanics who rebuilt his shattered Merc in time to qualify, as well as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who shockingly crashed out in Q1 when his rear axel locked up. The four-time champ spun through a gravel trap exiting Turn 1 at a high rate of knots and came to a hard stop against the barriers sidewise, catching his hands in the snapping steering wheel for good measure. The Dutch Master will have to fight his way from P20 on the grid come race day with the ignominy of seeing the two brand new Cadillacs actually lined up in front of him.

But all was not completely grim for team Red Bull. Their second driver, the impressive Frenchman Isack Hadjar, who is  making the jump to the big team after an excellent rookie season with the junior Racing Bulls last year, laid down an impressive final lap that was good enough for P3. That bumped Ferarri’s Charles Leclerc to P4 but the Prancing Horses do look ready to run for wins this year after a barren 2025, although Lewis Hamilton’s quali struggles continued, as the seven-time champ could only muster a P7 time . The McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and reigning title holder Lando Norris split the Ferraris but have been a bit off the elite pace so far throughout the race weekend, with Piastri only claiming P5 at his home event and Norris just P6. The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and impressive rookie Arvid Lindblad were good enough for P8 and P9 respectively, and while the Audi (formerly Sauber) of Gabriel Bortoleto didn’t run in Q3 due to an engine issue, he still earned P10 based on his Q2 performance, with teammate Nico Hulkenberg slotting in just behind in P11, an impressive first result for the Audi Factory effort.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Australian GP:

CLA DRIVER # TIME TYRES KM/H
1 G. Russell – Mercedes 63

1’18.518

 241.992
2 A. Antonelli – Mercedes 12

+0.293

1’18.811

 241.093
3 I. Hadjar – Red Bull Racing 6

+0.785

1’19.303

 239.597
4 C. Leclerc – Ferrari 16

+0.809

1’19.327

 239.525
5 O. Piastri – McLaren 81

+0.862

1’19.380

 239.365
6 L. Norris – McLaren 1

+0.957

1’19.475

 239.078
7 L. Hamilton – Ferrari 44

+0.960

1’19.478

 239.069
8 L. Lawson – Racing Bulls 30

+1.476

1’19.994

 237.527
9 A. Lindblad – Racing Bulls 41

+2.729

1’21.247

 233.864
10 G. Bortoleto – Audi 5

 

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

The Australian Grand Prix airs live at 11pm Eastern exclusively on AppleTV here in the States. So set that DVR or brew a fresh pot of coffee because the 2026 F1 season has finally arrived and things are bound to get interesting with these new and very tricky cars. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan — Results & aftermath

Verstappen dominates in Baku for easy win; Russell rallies through illness for P2, Sainz earns maiden Williams podium in P3; Piastri crashes out on opening lap but P7 Norris fails to truly capitalize

Red Bull ace Max Verstappen earned his second victory in a row with a dominant win from pole at Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. At the highly technical yet also high speed Baku City Circuit, Verstappen showed his flawless precision and race management, leading every lap of the 51-lap contest, setting the fastest lap and gapping the second place Mercedes of George Russell by a whopping 14.6 seconds at the finish. Carlos Sainz capitalized on his somewhat fortunate P2 starting position after Saturday’s highly chaotic qualifying to earn his first podium with Williams in P3. Meanwhile, McLaren had a weekend to forget, as championship points leader Oscar Piastri followed up his crash out in Q3 on Saturday with a very similar shunt on the race’s opening lap that ended his day in dramatic fashion. But despite being fated to score zero points on the day, teammate and chief championship rival Lando Norris could not make up much ground due to his own mediocre qualifying effort, the young Briton finishing exactly where he started when all was said and done in P7. Norris was therefore only able to reduce his deficit to Piastri by 6 points, the Aussie still retaining a 25-point cushion with seven rounds remaining. Still, as the home stretch of the 2025 season comes into view, Piastri looks mentally vulnerable for the first time and he will be staring at the walls of another very claustrophobic street circuit when the teams unload in Singapore in two weeks.

Kimi Antonelli continued his recent resurgence, making it an excellent day for the Silver Arrows by complimenting Russell’s P2 with a solid fourth place result. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson also had an excellent race, holding off multiple contenders in the final laps to secure an impressive P5. Teammate Isack Hadjar also contributed to the Racing Bulls points haul by coming home in P10.  Those unable to pass Lawson as the laps ran out were the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda, who nevertheless placed an encouraging P6, as well as the frustrated Norris in P7 and the best placed Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in P8. Hamilton got the better of his Scuderia stablemate Charles Leclerc with a pass late in the going, relegating the Monegasque to P9. Regardless, it was not a strong weekend for Ferrari and they will be keen to leave Baku behind for Singapore and the friendly confines of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, where they have traditionally run very well under the lights.

Top 10 finishers of the Azerbaijan GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

51

1:33:26.408

25

2

63

George Russell

Mercedes

51

+14.609s

18

3

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams

51

+19.199s

15

4

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

51

+21.760s

12

5

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

51

+33.290s

10

6

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing

51

+33.808s

8

7

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

51

+34.227s

6

8

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

51

+36.310s

4

9

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

51

+36.774s

2

10

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls

51

+38.982s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight at another demanding street circuit — the nighttime Singapore GP from the beautifully illuminated Marina Bay Street Circuit. Verstappen will be looking to keep his mojo working, Piastri will surely be looking to regroup while Norris ratchets up the pressure, Mercedes will try to keep climbing and Ferrari will be desperate to get back to the sharp end of the field. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan — Qualifying results

Verstappen prevails for pole after long rain-affected, Red Flag-happy qualifying in Baku; Sainz snags P2 for Williams, Lawson P3 for Racing Bulls on topsy turvy day, as Leclerc & Piastri crash out in Q3

 

Top 10 qualifiers for the Azerbaijan GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:41.331

1:41.255

1:41.117

23

2

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams

1:42.635

1:41.675

1:41.595

23

3

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

1:42.257

1:41.537

1:41.707

26

4

12

Kimi Antonelli

=Mercedes

1:42.247

1:41.464

1:41.717

21

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:41.646

1:41.455

1:42.070

22

6

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing

1:42.347

1:41.788

1:42.143

23

7

4

Lando Norris

\McLaren

1:41.322

1:41.396

1:42.239

21

8

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls

1:41.656

1:41.647

1:42.372

25

9

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

1:41.839

1:41.414

DNF

18

10

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:41.458

1:41.519

DNF

19

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Vintage Verstappen dominates at Monza; McLaren engineer Norris-Piastri to secure P2 & P3; Leclerc P4, Hamilton P6 in difficult weekend for Ferrari at home race

For one race weekend in the countryside of Northern Italy on the occasion of Round 16 of the Formula 1 World Championship and the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, it seemed just like old times for four-time champ Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team. Imperious on Saturday in setting the Monza lap-record en route to pole, Verstappen survived an early lap kerfuffle with McLaren rival Lando Norris in the Grand Prix that saw the Dutchman have to give up the lead after forcing Norris off track at the very start of the race. But mighty Max would not be denied this Sunday and he forcefully took the position back on Lap 4 with a perfectly gauged late-braking maneuver steaming into the first chicane. And despite being so early in the course of this 53-lap contest, once Verstappen regained the lead, it was lights out for any other aspirant on the day. In a vintage performance by Verstappen and in a Red Bull that more closely resembled the fearsome rocket that dominated the sport just a few years ago, Verstappen ran away from both McLarens with apparent ease, intuited that their overcut gamble would not thwart his pursuit of victory when he pitted some ten laps earlier than the Papaya duo eventually would, and then easily maintained his lead when Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri did finally come in for fresh rubber on Lap 46. And while McLaren denied to run that long first stint purposely to try and get an advantage by running their final short stint on Soft Pirellis in opposition to Verstappen’s older Lap 37 switch to Hards, it didn’t really work out and Verstappen headed the McLaren duo by a whopping 19.2 seconds when the checkers flew. It was Verstappen’s first victory since the other Grand Prix in Italy this year, Emilia-Romagna, way back in Round 7. Now, whether he and Red Bull can replicate this Monza resurgence at the very different animal that is Azerbaijan in a fortnight remains to be seen. But for one race weekend, at least, the Dutch king and his court were back in action.

McLaren, meanwhile, had a bit of a kissing your sister kind of experience here at Monza. Already surprised at their usually superior pace being bettered easily by Verstappen’s Red Bull, the team’s braintrust found themselves at pains to keep everything civil between their two gentlemanly pilots, Norris and Piastri. While their gamble to run a long first stint on Mediums and then make the late switch to Softs was a sound one in the face of Verstappen’s dominance and their own cushion to the runners behind them, things got complicated when they finally did call their drivers in. Running in third behind his teammate, Piastri was first in for service, with Norris being assured that despite staying out an extra lap, Piastri would play the team game and not fight it out via the undercut when they reemerged on track. But Norris’s stop was painfully slow with a sticky front left tire change costing him about four extra seconds stationary compared to his teammate and championship rival. So, Norris now emerged behind Piastri in P3 after all that time spent on pit lane. The team quickly ordered Piastri to swap back since the loss of position was no fault of Norris’s and they had all been down this road together in Hungary last year. With only the mildest grudging hesitation, Piastri ceded P2 back to Norris cleanly. Despite being told he was free to race after that, the young Aussie points-leader could never find the pace to really execute any sort of overtake in the final few laps of this fast moving race. With a lot of extra championship points in hand after Norris’s unfortunate mechanical DNF in Zadvoort last Sunday, Piastri could well afford to spot Norris three here at Monza.

Charles Leclerc was the best placed Ferrari in P4, the Prancing Horses never really in contention for a podium this year with that eventual lightning fast top three in front of them. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton did manage a very solid effort to work his way up from a penalty-induced tenth place start on the grid to P6 at the finish, but it was hardly a weekend to remember for the Scuderia or the hoards of loyal tifosi in the stands. Mercedes’ George Russell split the Ferraris in P6, while rookie Silver Arrows teammate got a confidence boosting result with a solid if unspectacular P9. Alexander Albon had an excellent drive for Williams to come home P7, while Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued his upward trajectory with a P8 finish. And Racing Bulls Isack Hadjar, yet another impressive rookie from this year’s bumper crop, had another superlative drive a week after his first podium in the Netherlands, willing himself from a pit lane start all the way into a points-paying P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

53

1:13:24.325

25

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

53

+19.207s

18

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

53

+21.351s

15

4

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

53

+25.624s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

53

+32.881s

10

6

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

53

+37.449s

8

7

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

53

+50.537s

6

8

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick SGabrielauber

53

+58.484s

4

9

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

53

+59.762s

2

10

6

Isack Hadjar

  

Racing Bulls

53

+63.891s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two week’s time at the very entertaining Baku City Street Circuit in Azerbaijan. A horse of a very different color than flat-out Monza, it will be interesting to see if Verstappen and Red Bull can keep their Italian mojo working there or if it will be a return to McLaren’s mostly dominant form this season. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands — Results & aftermath

Piastri prevails at Zandvoort as Norris’s championship dreams take hit with late race mechanical DNF; Verstappen inherits P2; Rookie Hadjar earns first podium with spectacular drive ahead of Russell; Ferrari suffer zero-points double retirement

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Top 10 finishers of the Dutch GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

72

1:38:29.849

25

2

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

72

+1.271s

18

3

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls

72

+3.233s

15

4

63

George Russell

Mercedes

72

+5.654s

12

5

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

72

+6.327s

10

6

87

Oliver Bearman

Haas

72

+9.044s

8

7

18

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

72

+9.497s

6

8

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

72

+11.709s

4

9

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing

72

+13.597s

2

10

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas

72

+14.063s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, as the F1 circus visits the Temple of Speed in Monza, Italy. Piastri will be seeking to extend his advantage while Norris will be desperate to get back in the game and secure a solid result. And Ferrari will be looking for redemption after their miserable Dutch weekend on their home turf and in front of of the rabid tifosi. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands — Qualifying results

Piastri pips Norris for pole as McLaren reign supreme at Zandvoort; Verstappen gives home fans hope in P3

With the August summer recess over, it was a return to 2025’s main theme, as the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris duked it out for pole amidst the dunes of Zandvoort during Saturday Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. With barely anything to choose between the supremely talented Papaya duo driving the grid’s fastest cars, it was Piastri who pipped Norris in the end by a minuscule .012-seconds. While you could put a sheet of paper between the points leading Piastri and his closest pursuer and teammate, Norris, the McLaren pair managed to gap the P3 Red Bull of Max Verstappen by three-tenths, much to the chagrin of the orange-clad army of his countrymen in the grandstands. Still, it was another fine effort by the Dutch Master at his home Grand Prix, making the most of what has evolved into a surprisingly hard to manage RB21 as the season has progressed.

Despite those three outstanding efforts, the qualifying drive of the day had to be by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar. The impressive French rookie continued to demand attention by vaulting himself into P4 and the second row alongside Verstappen with an outstanding final flying lap. That demoted Mercedes’ George Russell to P5, adding to Silver Arrows frustration after Kimi Anotonelli was bounced in Q2 with only the eleventh-fastest time in that session. Ferrari also continued to flounder, as Charles Leclerc could do no better than P6 and Lewis Hamilton could only manage P7. The second Racing Bull of Liam Lawson also performed well to take P8, while Williams’ Carlos Sainz excelled by setting the ninth fastest time and Aston Martin’s ageless Fernando Alonso qualified in tenth.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Dutch GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

1:09.338

1:08.964

1:08.662

18

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

1:09.469

1:08.874

1:08.674

18

3

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:09.696

1:09.122

1:08.925

18

4

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls

1:09.966

1:09.439

1:09.208

18

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:09.676

1:09.313

1:09.255

18

6

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:09.906

1:09.304

1:09.340

22

7

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:09.900

1:09.261

1:09.390

21

8

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

1:09.779

1:09.383

1:09.500

18

9

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams

1:09.980

1:09.472

1:09.505

18

10

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

1:09.950

1:09.366

1:09.630

17

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 9 AM Eastern on ESPN here in the States. With the Drivers’ Championship clearly down to the McLaren duo, we’ll see if Piastri or Norris can begin the final stretch of 10 races left on the front foot. Or perhaps there will be a Dutch spoiler waiting to capitalize on any ill-timed contact between the Papaya pair? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Results & aftermath

Piastri gets the better of Norris early in delayed wet-to-dry race as McLaren finish 1-2 again; Leclerc holds off Verstappen for P3

The legendary Spa-Francorchamps Circuit nestled into the Ardennes Forest lived up to its unpredictable nature on this Belgian Grand Prix Sunday, as heavy rains blanketed the entirety of the long, 7 kilometer track, delaying the start of the Formula 1 race by some eighty minutes. But while it looked for a while like we might be on for a repeat of the aborted 2021 race here, the weather eventually cleared enough to get the Grand Prix underway, albeit behind the Safety Car after a lengthy Red Flag period waiting for the precipitation to let up and track conditions, especially visibility, to improve. With the Safety Car coming into the pits on Lap 5 of this 44-lap contest, it didn’t take long for the decisive move to unfold. As the pole-sitting McLaren of Lando Norris attempted to speed away at La Source, his points-leading teammate Oscar Piastri tucked in behind him and used the slipstream to beautiful effect while heading up Eau Rouge, executing a nifty and authoritative pass steaming into the Kemmel Straight. Piastri then skipped away from the now second place Norris to the tune of a full second by the end of the first racing lap.

But with the track now drying out amidst the unusually warm summer weather here, the next inflection point was just when to duck into the pits to get off the rapidly wearing Intermediate Pirellis and onto slick tires. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, having very little to lose after starting form the pits due to a track limits deletion in Q1 on Saturday and the Scuderia’s decision to change the car set up after that, was the first to make the leap, coming in for Medium tires. That started the dominoes tumbling, as Piastri followed in a lap later for the same tire change, as did most of the rest of the field, but Norris stayed out, along with only Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Isack Hadjar. When he did come into the pits a lap later, his pit wall made the audacious decision to switch him to the Hard tire in hopes of making it to the end of the race on those tires while, they hoped, others would be forced to pit off the slightly moire fragile Mediums, which the rest of the field had chosen.

But it didn’t really work out for Norris, as Piastri proved a master at nursing his tires to the end, while also benefitting from running in clear air at the front. While Norris pushed hard until the bitter end and got within 4-seconds of his teammate, it seemed to be his Hards that lost their performance first and the young Briton had a handful of slight moments in the latter two-thirds of the tilt that saw him slide off track momentarily and lose whatever time he had previously gained. Piastri took the checkered flag the victor, with Norris relegated to P2 essentially from the very first action of the race. It was sweet payback for Piastri after the Aussie pilot felt hard done by a penalty in the last race at Silverstone that cost him the win, and it ended the resurgent Norris’s winning streak at two. Clearly, these two drivers have the best cars on the grid on any given weekend so, it will almost certainly come down to a two-man, intra-team battle between these exceptionally talented young Formula 1 stars for the Drivers’ Championship, even as McLaren are now running away with the Constructors’.

While it was always a going to be some combination of Piastri-Norris for the top two positions today, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the best of the rest, holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Saturday’s Sprint winner, to claim P3 and a step on the podium. Leclerc’s stablemate Hamilton put in a brilliant recovery drive, coming all the way from that pit lane start up to P7. Mercedes’ George Russell had a bit of lonely race but still scored valuable points for the Silver Arrows in P5 on a day where rookie Kimi Antonelli continued to falter and finished well down in P16. Williams Alexander Albon was able to stave off Hamilton’s best efforts en route to an impressive P6, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson continued his rebound from a tough start with Red Bull and eventual demotion, taking a valuable and confidence boosting P8. Fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued to impress by coming home in P9 for the much improved Kick Sauber outfit and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly held off a host of midfield pretenders to take the final point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Belgian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

44

1:25:22.601

25

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

44

+3.415s

18

3

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

44

+20.185s

15

4

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

44

+21.731s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

44

+34.863s

10

6

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

44

+39.926s

8

7

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

44

+40.679s

6

8

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

44

+52.033s

4

9

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick Sauber

44

+56.434s

2

10

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

44

+72.714s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, the Hungarian Grand Prix from Budapest, which is also the last contest before the traditional summer recess. While McLaren certainly seem have the pace on all the other contenders, the Hungaroring is a very different beast than Spa. Hope to see you then to find out whether it’s another internecine fight for the win between Piastri and Norris or if another team and driver can spoil McLaren’s summer holiday!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

Norris prevails over Piastri in chaotic Austrian GP; Ferrari gain in Constrcutors’ with Leclerc P3, Hamilton P4; Red Bull score zero at home race after Verstappen taken out by Antonelli on Lap 1, sloppy Tsunoda finishes last

A race after crashing out in a clash with his teammate in Canada, McLaren’s Lando Norris kept his cool under the hot Spielberg sun, fending off his chief rival and fellow Papaya driver Oscar Piastri to take victory at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. In a chaotic race that saw four retirements, including the usually impervious Red Bull of Max Verstappen, Norris reestablished his championship potential by controlling the race from the front after starting from the pole, deftly weaving his way through back-markers at the very short and intense Red Bull Ring and executing a very clean final stint under pressure to earn a valuable win. Despite a late race charge by Piastri after the final round of pit stops in this 70-lap contest, Norris withstood the challenge, as his young Aussie rival and current points leader could never quite close up enough to get the DRS and find a way by. Norris’s 25-points on the day versus Piastri’s second place 18 tightened up his deficit to a mere 15-points and, most importantly, restored the young Briton’s confidence after his error in judgement in Canada. It will be game on at Silverstone next weekend, where Norris will enjoy a slight home race advantage from the fans, while Piastri will be looking to reassert his dominance over his teammate and reignite his championship campaign.

As if to drive home the point of McLaren’s absolute dominance this Grand Prix weekend, Not only did Norris and Piastri finish 1-2 but the third place Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was nearly 20-seconds in arrears when he took the checkered flag.  Still, with stablemate Lewis Hamilton slotting in at P4, it was a good day for the Scuderia in the points, especially on a day where their nearest rivals for second place in the Constructors’ had downright dismal outings. Ferrari couldn’t have drawn it up any better when Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli made an overly optimistic dove bomb move on Lap 1 steaming into Turn 3. The Silver Arrow’s rear tires locked up under breaking and Antonelli slammed into the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull, ending both their races before they could even compete a single circuit. To show just how rare that DNF was, it ended Verstappen’s astonishing 31-race scoring streak, a catastrophe for the team, as Yuki Tsunoda ran a ragged race and came home P16 when all was said and done, plumb last among the surviving cars. Still, it must be noted that Verstappen put himself into jeopardy by only qualifying P7 and Tsunoda is only the latest in a long line of second Red Bull drivers who are unable to find any kind of pace in the car. So, Red Bull’s situation might be even more grave than their zero-points result in Sunday in Austria before most of their corporate brass. For Antonelli, it was a brutal comedown after scoring his first podium in Canada two weeks ago and a reminder that they don’t call them “rookies” for nothing. George Russell salvaged at least a little something on the day, finishing where he started in P5, but Mercedes still saw Ferrari overtake them for P2 in the Constructors’ one race after it seemed they were ascendent after a 1-3 in Montreal. They’ll be hoping to get back on terms when they fire the engines up again in Silverstone.

Places 5 through 10 were nothing but happy surprises and good vibes, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson continuing his rebound from his short-lived tenure with Red Bull at the start of the season by scoring his best ever F1 finish in P6. Wily old vet Fernando Alonso kept his Aston Martin out of trouble and the pursuing whippersnapper Gabriel Bortoleto behind him en route to seventh place. It was still an outstanding day for Kick Sauber, with not only rookie Bortoleto driving superbly to score his first F1 points in P8 but also veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg adding to the team total in P9. Haas’s Esteban Ocon made it two races in a row in the points with a solid P10, no doubt helped by the slew of retirements, including both midfield-running Williams.

Top 10 finishers of the Austrian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

70

1:23:47.693

25

2

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

70

+2.695s

18

3

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

70

+19.820s

15

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

70

+29.020s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

70

+62.396s

10

6

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

70

+67.754s

8

7

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

69

+1 lap

6

8

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick Sauber

69

+1 lap

4

9

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Kick Sauber

69

+1 lap

2

10

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas

69

+1 lap

1

Complete race results available via Fomula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time — the British GP from the legendary Silverstone Circuit, the grandaddy of them all in F1. We’ll see if  McLaren can keep pulling away from the field at a very different kind of circuit than the Red Bull Ring and, if so, whether the Piastri-Norris battle may once again lead to an internecine clash that opens the door for the other contenders. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Qualifying results

Norris claims pole at Red Bull ring ahead of P2 Leclerc, teammate Piastri in P3

Looking to rebound from the clash with his teammate that ended his race in Canada prematurely two weeks ago, McLaren’s Lando Norris blistered the field to earn pole during Saturday Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Norris mastered the short and tricky Red Bull ring to the tune of a record-setting 1:03.971 fast lap, half a second ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and a few tenths more than that versus McLaren stablemate and current points leader Oscar Piastri. After the the Papaya duo collided late in the race in Quebec a fortnight ago, costing Norris any points at all and nearly taking out Piastri as well in the process, Lando will be desperate to get away and stay away from all of the other contenders, run a clean race and take home maximum points to reignite his championship aspirations. With Leclerc’s Prancing Horse slotting in at P2 and teammate Lewis Hamilton pulling one out of the bag good enough for the fourth fastest time, Piastri could well have his hands full just trying to fend off the Ferraris, let alone getting  back on terms with Norris, who frankly looks like he has the edge here in Spielberg.

Mercedes suffered by comparison when measured against McLaren and the Scuderia, perhaps due to the extremely hot conditions here at the circuit, with George Russell only good enough for P5 and rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli scuffling his way to a lowly P9 spot on the grid. Racing Bulls Liam Lawson, who has really come on after a very rough start to the year in the senior Red Bull team, shocked his old teammate Max Verstappen by out-qualifying the Flying Dutchman, P7 to P8. Verstappen may have gotten a taste of what his wingmen usually have to deal with, as the four–time champ complained that his car was literally un-drivable. He struggled with snap oversteer repeatedly over the course of these short but demanding laps, and teammate Yuki Tsunoda fared even worse, coming home a shocking P18 and rueing his lack of front grip. On the other side of the coin, Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto achieved his best-ever qualifying result with a very impressive time good enough for P8. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the Top 10 in P10, unable to improve his time when he spun on his final quali effort.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Austrian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

1:04.672

1:04.410

1:03.971

18

2

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:05.197

1:04.734

1:04.492

21

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

1:04.966

1:04.556

1:04.554

19

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:05.115

1:04.896

1:04.582

21

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:05.189

1:04.860

1:04.763

18

6

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

1:05.017

1:05.041

1:04.926

17

7

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:05.106

1:04.836

1:04.929

18

8

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick Sauber

1:05.123

1:04.846

1:05.132

21

9

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:05.178

1:05.052

1:05.276

17

10

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

1:05.054

1:04.846

1:05.649

21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live beginning at 9AM Eastern on ESPN here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Norris can keep his quali momentum going and get his championship campaign back on track with a victory, or if Lady Luck — and his teammate Piastri and the two charging Ferraris — have other plans in store.