Lando Norris Dominates Austrian GP Qualifying with Surprising Margin

Lando Norris delivered a stunning performance in Austrian GP qualifying with a 0.531 second advantage over Charles Leclerc in second place — an unexpected achievement at Formula 1’s shortest circuit.

Although Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri couldn’t complete their final Q3 laps due to yellow flags, the Dutch driver admitted that his grip issues wouldn’t have significantly changed the outcome.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed several key success factors:

• Aerodynamic improvements to front suspension
• Chassis modifications
• Front wing and brake system development
• Optimization of aerodynamic efficiency

“Lando is definitely a specialist in Austria. He is very resilient and always comes back stronger after facing issues,” said Stella.

Meanwhile, Red Bull experienced an unexpected performance drop — Christian Horner suspected rising temperatures pushed the car out of its ideal operating window. Mercedes also suffered setbacks with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli only managing fifth and ninth positions.

Sunday’s race is predicted to be a two-stop strategy due to hot conditions, but Stella remains cautious about potential threats from Ferrari and Verstappen.