Red Bull home game blam: “Black Day” for Verstappen – Norris shortened to Piatri

With his teeth, Lando Norris screwed up his water bottle after his nerve-wracking comeback victory in the frustrated Red-Bull-Land Spielberg and was looking forward to some cool socks. After a lightning-out of Max Verstappen at the Grand Prix of Austria, the English McLaren pilot saved himself as a winner in front of his rushing team-mate Oscar Piatri. And that only two weeks after his crash out in Canada.

“It was a hard race, I had to accelerate all the time,” said Norris after partly breathless bike-am-wheel duels against World Cup leader Piatri, which he crowned with his third win of the season. “A double success is exactly what we wanted and we did it. I’m happy.”

Norris again in top form after his crash

Despite a strong finish, Piatri lost second points on Norris. However, he still has 15 more than his stable rival and even a whopping 61 points ahead of Verstappen, whose hope of a fifth World Cup coup is becoming more and more vanish. Piatri later described the heat race as “very intensive”. “I hope it was good to look at because it was a pretty hard fight in the car.”

Verstappen, on the other hand, experienced a disaster in front of the eyes of corporate sizes like Jürgen Klopp after a crash in the opening round. The collision with Mercedes Teenager Kimi Antonelli robbed him of all chances of limiting damage from starting position seven. Team colleague Yuki Tsunoda was the last to round off the embarrassment from Red Bull with two rounds behind.

“The deficit is almost unobelactable”

“I’m outside, I was hit like crazy … Idiots,” said Verstappen, before he had Anonelli explained the blackout at the scene of the accident. The Dutch pulled the helmet from the head and trotted back from the gravel bed towards Garage, where Antonelli later visited him again.

“This is a very black day, the deficit is almost unrestricted,” said Red Bull Motor Sports Advisor Helmut Marko about the dwindling World Cup chances of Verstappen. “If something extraordinary does not happen, we have to assume that the World Cup is gone.”

Star casserole in Spielberg

Charles Leclerc in Ferrari grabbed the last podium. Nico Hülkenberg, who ran from the last place, drove a strong race in the kick Sauber and, as ninth, scored points again directly behind his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.

At the event in Styria, the management of the Red Bull cosmos was of course not missing – even if, of course, she would have liked anything but a single trip of the dominant McLaren duo.

The son of the co -founder Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz, who died in October 2022, appeared on the side of his partner Victoria Swarovski in bright sunshine.

Formula 1 to 2041 in Spielberg

With Red Bull Managing Director Oliver Mintzlaff, the global football boss took a walk through the starting line-up before the red traffic lights went. The Grand Prix of Austria, which remains in Formula 1 calendar until the end of 2041, is a Red Bull compulsory event.

But also the long-time Formula 1 managing director Bernie Ecclestone, who was one of the first congratulations on the podium, did not miss the eleventh season run. And first had to see how the start after a technical defect had to be canceled from Carlos Sainz. When Williams also caught fire at the beginning of the pit exit, the Grand Prix was already over for the Spaniard.

“I’m sorry for the team and for Max”

It couldn’t be much worse for Red Bull. Because Verstappen only managed to curve three. Antonelli breathe and unintentionally pushed the five-time Austria winner off the asphalt. “I didn’t want to do anything, I just wanted to keep my position,” said the 18-year-old Mercedes driver after his serious mistake when he lost the rear. “I’m sorry for the team and for Max.”

It was the first failure of Verstappen since the third stage in 2024 in Australia. At the end of this season, he was at the top in the World Cup ranking for the fourth time. That should have been the last time for Verstappen for the time being. Because the Red Bull has long since lost its exceptional position. It is not for nothing that it is speculated that Verstappen could leave the racing team prematurely by the end of 2028. Mercedes is interested.

Pole man Norris was able to defend his leadership after the start. Piatri immediately conceded Leclerc in the first curve and then hunting his English teammate.

And what a hunt that was! Again and again Norris and Piatri bike raced on bike. The Australian finally seemed over in round eleven, but Norris countered. The breath of the McLaren fans caught when Piatri braked and almost crashed into the Englishman in circulation 20. Immediately afterwards Norris came to the box and returned fourth with hard tires.

Despite the free journey, Piatri was not able to develop a decisive lead. After his pit stop in the 25th round, Norris took the lead again and controlled the field. Nothing changed on the ranking at the forefront even after the second garage visits.

But Norris had to worry again. “I need pace, please help me,” the Englishman sparked almost desperately because he stuck out in traffic when he got around. In the end, it was still enough for him.