Norris recounts confidence-inspiring win after stressful Austrian GP battle

Lando Norris snagged his third win of the F1 2025 season at the Austrian Grand Prix in a performance the McLaren driver called confidence-inspiring.

Norris credited a variety of behind-the-scenes improvements — from personal changes to technical upgrades — for bolstering his confidence ahead of his home race next weekend.

Lando Norris credits behind-the-scenes improvements for Austrian GP win

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The only reason Lando Norris might have needed to get behind the wheel in FP1 at the Austrian Grand Prix would have been to take a clean sweep of the number one spot in every session.

But it turns out, he didn’t need that extra time in the car; after retrieving his McLaren from rookie driver Alex Dunne for FP2, he found himself at the top of the timing sheets all the way through the close of qualifying — where he snagged pole position by over half a second in what was the biggest margin so far this season.

On Sunday afternoon, a strong start saw the Briton carry that pole into the lead of the Grand Prix and then, ultimately, to victory.

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Norris may have held the lead of the race, but that didn’t mean it was a straightforward run to the chequered flag. Keeping him company in his mirrors was team-mate Oscar Piastri, keen on snagging a victory himself.

“There was plenty of fun along the way,” Norris said of the race.

“Some close moments, some good battles; just a lot of laps of looking in my mirrors out of Turn 1 and all the way down to Turn 3.

“Stressful for sure, not like the most comfortable position to be in, but [it] was a good battle between us and doing quite a long race from that point onwards because I never had a lovely gap, and Oscar kept coming at me the next two stints.

“Good fun, but a tricky race — but well managed.”

Piastri made several moves on Norris in hopes of snagging the win but dropped away slightly after first nearly making contact with his team-mate, then after his pit strategy saw him rejoin following his opening stop further back than expected.

Still, Austria ended on a much happier note than did the previous Canadian Grand Prix; there, Norris collided with Piastri and knocked himself out of the race. A strong performance in Austria was sure to put any lingering frustrations to bed — but it wasn’t all straightforward.

Recounting his race, Norris explained, “The first stint was difficult just because I couldn’t get my battery up and it was a quite strategic part of the race, and I just was always vulnerable for those reasons.

“But as soon as I did the pit stop, I could get the battery back up for the first time, and then I could be a little bit more comfortable.”

Where did this confident, winning pace come from, though? Norris had a few answers.

First and foremost, he gave a shout-out to “everyone back in [the McLaren Technology Centre] and to the whole team for giving us another very, very good car, upgrades that we can just put on — I mean, they’ve been a little while. We’ve been patient with things, but we put them on the car, and they worked as they should.

“So we’re satisfied. The team are satisfied and excited for next weekend.”

Norris also noted that he’s been hard at work behind the scenes.

“I think I just had a clean weekend,” he said.

“It’s not that I’ve not been able to do it before. The pace has always been there at certain points.

“It’s just, yeah, there’s been some reasons for different things, but certainly coming in today and yesterday to do the job that I did, I’m pretty happy.

“But it doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t come just because I’ve turned up this weekend, and just, things are better.

“I’m working a lot than I used to away from the track with the team, on the simulator, with my own team, on trying to improve everything that I can.

“And I think it’s more a positive thing to see a lot of those things paying off immediately.

“Good step in the right direction. Still need more, still want more, so we’ll keep working.”

One critical factor in this race was Norris’ communication with race engineer Will Joseph. The two often chat during the race, but in Austria, those communications were precise, loaded with information and guidance designed to help keep Norris on the path to victory.

“It’s part of it,” Norris said of the positive impact that made. “Probably not the kind of precise stuff they’ve been working on, but that’s just part of the general improvements we’ve been trying to make.

“I think it was more normal improvements that I’ve been trying to make, and just things I think you need when you’re trying to win a race.

“As much as I like to not have any radio and just do my own thing and then concentrate, you know, when you’ve got some quick guys behind you or ahead of you, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a bit of guidance and a bit of help every now and then.

“Just trying to utilise the guys I’ve got around me — my engineers, my performance engineers, they’re looking at a lot more data than I can see. Obviously, I’m the one in the car, but when you’ve got a guy catching you and there are some corners where you can improve, then I want to know those things.

“So I would say that’s nothing more than just general improvements, but also me trying to be a bit more accepting of help sometimes.”

It proved to be a winning combination, admitting his Austrian GP win was “fulfilling for me. It gives me good confidence.

“I don’t need to prove any points or prove anything to anyone, honestly; I like to prove things to myself probably more than anything.”

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