The battle for the lead in the Austrian GP sprint race featured utter chaos. Both McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were right on Max Verstappen’s gearbox in the opening laps of the race. However, as Norris made a move to take the lead at turn 3, it all unfolded badly for the Briton. Verstappen immediately retook the lead at the next corner and Piastri took advantage of his teammate being defensive to swoop past him. Now, Sky Sports pundit Anthony Davidson has blamed the Aussie for ruining that battle with his otherwise “brilliant” overtake.
As per Sky Sports F1’s live blog, Davidson cited how “for our viewing pleasure, it wasn’t the best move because Norris had the speed and that cat and mouse [between Verstappen and Norris] could have continued without Piastri overtaking Norris.”
It was quite chaotic for Norris to understand what happened at turn 4 as Verstappen dived down the inside of him. While the 24-year-old tried his best to hold his line on the outside and fight the Dutchman out, Piastri going through the available gap certainly took him by surprise.
Norris takes the lead ➡️ Verstappen reclaims it ➡️ Piastri swoops past Norris
Riveting racing from the front three #F1Sprint #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/WjORyXuvx5
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024
However, as the #81 driver did not make any major inroads into Verstappen’s lead later, Davidson feels his move ruined the race. It was quite a dead race after this tussle among the three, as Verstappen cruised to take the sprint victory.
Davidson cited that Piastri needs to improve his race craft and tire management, as he wasn’t able to challenge Verstappen despite passing Norris. He cited, “I think the final area for Piastri to improve on is in the race. I think Lando has better tire management and that came into play later in the race.”
The tire management skills did help Norris close in on his teammate but he ran out of laps to retake P2. Regardless, Norris and Piastri provided a treat for the fans by battling it out in Austria for P2 and could have potentially shown signs of what is to come in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
What does the Austrian GP sprint performance mean for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s chances for Sunday?
McLaren were tipped to be the closest challenger to Red Bull coming into the Austrian GP. And the sprint race has shown enough evidence of the same. With all three of Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri being in contention for the win, the Grand Prix on Sunday could be an extended version of this battle with a few more variables.
While Norris lost the lead he gained within a few seconds, his tire management ability and the Austrian GP having at least two stops historically could bring the Briton into contention for the win on Sunday. Now, even Piastri looked interested in challenging Verstappen for a couple of laps before the latter pulled away to build a gap.
He was asked a few questions at the start but Max had the answers
An #F1Sprint masterclass from Verstappen #F1 #AustrianGP @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/EMVDwCddvB
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024
So, come the main race on Sunday, both McLaren drivers cannot be ruled out for making a bid for the race win. However, their performance in qualifying will be crucial for being in a similar position as the sprint.
If the McLaren duo can qualify for Sunday’s 71-lap race as they did for the sprint, Verstappen could face a serious challenge around the Red Bull ring.
