Norris explains 'very difficult situation' with Piastri in Austria GP

Lando Norris has described a "difficult situation" that made keeping teammate Oscar Piastri all the more stressful during the Austrian Grand Prix.

McLaren were a dominant force around the Red Bull Ring, which was evident throughout all three days of the weekend in Spielberg.

Norris claimed pole position by over half a second from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc; Piastri would have likely joined his teammate on the front row if he would have been able to complete his second flying lap.

Piastri swiftly got past Leclerc into the first corner on the opening lap, and from that point onwards the Papaya pair streaked far ahead of the remaining field. But it was far from a relaxing drive for both McLaren pilots.

Nose To Tail All Race

Piastri kept close tabs to Norris for almost the entire race, never falling more than a net seven seconds behind the race leader. He threatened to overtake the Briton numerous times, briefly holding P1 on lap 11 before Norris reclaimed the lead into the next braking zone.

In the first 20 laps, Piastri was within a second of Norris, giving the former DRS and a speed advantage on the long straights of the Red Bull Ring.

This meant Norris was understandably stressed behind the wheel of his MCL39, as he explained to Sky Sports F1 after the Grand Prix.

He said: "It was an exciting fight with Oscar. It was tough, especially the first few laps, first 20 laps.

"He [Piastri] was pushing a lot and I think he just had DRS, and then he could get the battery up and I had to keep using my battery to try and get him out of DRS. So I was in a very, very difficult situation.

"But I managed to always stay ahead, even though I made a couple of mistakes here and there and he had a couple of opportunities," stated Norris.

The McLaren driver went on to describe in detail his lap 11 battle with Piastri.

He continued: "I mean around here, it's not like once the overtake is done, it's done.

"You have plenty of opportunities. The next corner you can get a good exit, so I got the perfect switchback out of turn three. So as long as you position the car in the right place and you put them in a defensive mode, then you can take advantage of it like I did.

"Of course I was close to losing it [the lead], but I stayed ahead and that was for me the most important. I had track position but it was a tough battle," explained Norris.

Still Have To Focus

While McLaren are already well on their way to a second consecutive Constructors' Championship, Norris was keen to stress the importance of still putting 100% into every session and race weekend.

He added: "We're always still trying to win the races and finish first and second. And, with how the car was today, it was pretty dominant comparing to the rest of the grid.

"But it's tougher than it looks, you know, to place the car perfectly, to not make a mistake, to not lock up.

"There were some close moments today, but I think all very fair and all acceptable, in my opinion. So, yeah, some good racing between us."

• Read Also: McLaren boss admits to 'stressful' intra-team battling in Austria

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