Sweltering summer conditions welcomed the F1 paddock to Austria as the Styrian mountains baked up a brilliant spectacle for McLaren and their fans.
Lando Norris was able to hold off teammate Oscar Piastri to claim his third win of the season and close the gap to the Australian to 15 points in the drivers' championship.
Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc claimed Ferrari's fourth podium of the season. The Scuderia brought much improved upgrades to the car, which allowed them to also secure fourth place on the road through Lewis Hamilton.
F1’s six rookies had a mixed weekend, but both Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto had their best races for their respective teams.
Top Rookie: Liam Lawson – 6th
Lawson was able to bring home significant points for the Racing Bulls in the midfield battle. The Red Bull junior team have now forged a small gap to Haas, whom they lead by seven points.
The New Zealand driver managed to complete a one-stop strategy, holding off a late challenge by veteran Fernando Alonso. Lawson even finished within range of Mercedes’ George Russell, exemplifying the pace shown by the Kiwi.
Lawson has come into his own in recent weeks as both Racing Bulls drivers continue to impress.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 8th
Bortoleto finally scored his first F1 points of his career as he guided his fluorescent green Kick Sauber to an eighth-place finish. The Brazilian finished just ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg as Sauber collected a double points finish for the first time since 2018.
Last season’s F2 champion made a series of impressive overtakes, including on Pierre Gasly as he ducked underneath the Alpine driver at turns five and six.
Bortoleto will hope his form can continue into the British Grand Prix.
Ollie Bearman – 11th
The Haas driver narrowly missed out on a points finish with an 11th-place finish. Bearman drove a good race and enabled Esteban Ocon to secure a single point for the team by holding off Isack Hadjar behind.
Bearman heads into his home race in positive form and will hope Haas have a competitive package at Silverstone.
Isack Hadjar – 12th
Hadjar put in another decent showing but could not forge his way into the top ten. The Frenchman was on a two-stop strategy and ran in the points before picking up substantial floor damage. This caused the rookie to fall out of the points in the latter stages of the race.
Overall, it was a solid race by Hadjar and the Racing Bulls, who picked up solid points in the midfield battle that continues to heat up after every race.
Franco Colapinto – 15th
It was another tough race for Colapinto, with the Argentinian driver struggling in his Alpine machinery. However, he was impeded by Yuki Tsunoda, who planted his Red Bull into the back of the Alpine.
The rookie almost wiped out Oscar Piastri in a move that all but ended the Australian driver’s pursuit of a victory in Austria. This resulted in a penalty for Colapinto that capped off a difficult weekend.
Kimi Antonelli – DNF
After a brilliant drive in Canada, Antonelli only completed one sector in Austria. The 18-year-old misjudged his braking into turn three and torpedoed his Mercedes into the side of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, ending the world champion’s race.
Antonelli has only finished in the points in one of the last five races, albeit that his Mercedes machinery prematurely ended his race in both Imola and Spain.
However, the Italian has performed well at Silverstone and will look to regain his form on British soil.
Rookie Ratings
Liam Lawson – 8
Ollie Bearman – 6
Isack Hadjar – 6
Franco Colapinto – 5
Kimi Antonelli - 2
With the British Grand Prix up next, home hero Ollie Bearman will be hoping for a points finish.
