Follow us on

News

Anthony Davidson spotted Lando Norris do one thing that made the Austrian Grand Prix ‘harder’ to win

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris took an emphatic victory in the Austrian Grand Prix after battling with teammate Oscar Piastri for the win.

The Briton finished the race 2.6 seconds from Piastri after the Australian reeled him in during the final laps, having battled for the lead midway through the race.

Norris fended off Piastri in the first 20 laps of the race, as they exchanged positions between Turns 1 and 4. Piastri would lose out, while Norris kept his advantage, which enabled him to have preference in the pit stops.

From there, Norris could keep the lead of the race ahead of Piastri and maintain the gap until the chequered flag as the pair negotiated traffic.

When analysing the race on Sky Sports F1, former F1 driver Anthony Davidson spotted Norris doing something that made his defence slightly harder against Piastri.

F1 Grand Prix of Austria
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Lando Norris closed the DRS quickly when fighting Oscar Piastri

Piastri tried to overtake around the outside of Turn 3 but the pair went side-by-side down the backstraight.

Norris then used the DRS to stay ahead of the Australian as they approached Turn 4, but Davidson spotted the Briton doing something that made his defence slightly harder.

“I spotted live at the time, the rear wing slot gap closes strangely early for Lando’s car. As he comes past Piastri it closes, which is way earlier than you expect, then it opens again momentarily, then immediately closes again,” said Davidson.

“Whatever happened there, whether it was finger trouble or lifted off, made his job harder to re-pass Piastri, but he got it done just about into Turn 4.”

Oscar Piastri over 50 points ahead of Max Verstappen

McLaren did well to manage the race considering the pair were on the brink of a 50-point lead over Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman was taken out on the first lap of the race by Andrea Kimi Antonelli, after the Italian lost control of his car on the opening lap heading into Turn 3.

Position Drivers' Championship Points
1

Oscar Piastri

198
2

Lando Norris

176
3

Max Verstappen

155
4

George Russell

136
5

Charles Leclerc

104
6

Lewis Hamilton

79
7

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

63
8

Alexander Albon

42
9

Esteban Ocon

22
10

Isack Hadjar

21

Antonelli held his hands up for the incident, while Verstappen is now 52 points behind Piastri in the championship battle.

Red Bull did not score any points as Yuki Tsunoda also finished in last place following a collision with Franco Colapinto.