Three talking points from Austrian Grand Prix
A victorious Norris heads to next weekend's British Grand Prix with a spring in his step, after leading team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri home in a 1-2 to erase the memory of their collision in Canada.
He knows that with home support he has a chance to boost his title bid by trimming or overhauling Piastri's 15-point lead.
Here, AFP Sport looks at three talking points from Sunday's race at the Red Bull Ring:
Red Bull's influential advisor Helmut Marko, a key part of four-time world champion Verstappen's inner circle, gave a blunt assessment of the team's performance, calling it a "black day" for Red Bull as their 77-race scoring streak ended.
That proud run had underpinned Verstappen's title-winning seasons and its loss was an embarrassment on the track they own in front of their fans and sponsors and a large Dutch contingent making up the 'orange army'.
Marko, 82, believes "the championship is over" for both team and driver after Verstappen was taken out by Mercedes' teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap.
It ended a run of 31 races in the points for Verstappen while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished 16th and last.
Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, demoted back to the junior team after only two races, came sixth.
"McLaren was out of reach," said Marko.
"It's a black day. The gap is almost impossible to make up. If nothing special happens, we have to say the championship is over."
Verstappen is 61 points adrift of Piastri in the title race and knows that following the departures of Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, he no longer has a car or team performance to consistently compete for victories.
Norris's win was built on the error-free excellence of his performance and use of all resources needed to resist the pressure of Piastri's attacks in the opening stint of an intriguing contest.
As he said, after taking pole on Saturday, "it's nice to see the real me again" an admission his personal soul-searching has, at times, made it difficult for him to drive with freedom.
"It doesn't come easily," he said. "It doesn't come just because I've turned up this weekend and things are better.
"I'm doing a lot more work than I used to do away from the track with the team, on the simulator, with my own team, trying to improve everything that I can, both on and off the track.
"I think it's more a positive thing to see a lot of those things paying off immediately, but I still need more and want more."
Norris and Piastri are set to duel for the drivers' crown and the Briton is ready for an emotional Silverstone homecoming.
"Of course, it's a place I want to win more than anywhere else, but it doesn't change anything. It just puts a bit more of a smile on my face every morning when I wake up," he said.
Gabriel Bortoleto may not have passed his manager, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, to snatch seventh place, but by finishing eighth ahead of Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg he gave notice of the future Audi team's intent.
Under the guidance of Wheatley, formerly with Red Bull, the Swiss outfit have improved rapidly this season and have accumulated 26 points, within reach of Aston Martin, Haas and Racing Bulls.
Last year, they were pointless until the penultimate race in Qatar and finished with four.
str/pi/jc
Mercedes-Benz Group
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Djokovic passes Muller test to reach Wimbledon second round
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic was made to work hard after a strong start as he began his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title by beating unseeded Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 to reach the second round on Tuesday (July 1, 2025). The sixth seed, who is aiming to equal Roger Federer's haul at the All England Club and move past Margaret Court in the all-time list of major champions, will take on British wild card Dan Evans in the next round. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance, to be honest," Djokovic said. "I think I always have a chance, I've earned my right to feel I can go all the way to the title. I've had arguably the most success of any Grand Slam in the last decade. "It's just the beginning of the tournament. There are many fantastic players in the draw. I'm going to be playing a Briton in the next round. That's going to be a tough one, but I look forward to it. "I've always felt like grass, particularly in the second part of my career, was really the surface where I played my best tennis, so why not do it again?" Djokovic, who endured a poor year before lifting his 100th tour-level trophy in Geneva ahead of a run to the semi-finals of the French Open, powered through the opening set against Muller by winning six games on the trot. Muller put up much more of a fight in the next set, saving five breakpoints to hold for 4-4 before forcing a tiebreak where he raised his game again to battle from 2-5 down and draw level in the match. Djokovic caught his breath when the Centre Court roof was closed and then took a medical timeout early in the third set for a stomach problem, before going up 3-2 with a break after Muller hit his sixth double fault of the match. Having wrapped up the third set, Djokovic racked up a 4-2 advantage in the fourth set with an exquisite backhand winner and there was no looking back from there as he completed the victory by holding to love. "I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes," Djokovic added. "Whether it was a stomach bug, I don't know what it was, but I just struggled with that. The energy kicked back in after some doctor's miracle pills. "I managed to finish the match on a good note." (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; editing by Clare Fallon)
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Revisiting the legendary British Grand Prix moment when Nigel Mansell gave Ayrton Senna a lift in his F1 car
Formula 1 has grown significantly over the years, with strict safety regulations that are life-saving on one hand but can lead to heavy penalties for drivers if even slightly violated. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, there was a time in the 1990s when things were a little less rigid — like the iconic moment during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, when Ayrton Senna hitched a ride on the body of Nigel Mansell's F1 car after his own had run out of fuel. When Ayrton Senna ran out of fuel and hitched a ride on track The legendary British Grand Prix moment was recently shared by F1 on their X handle, leaving motorsport fans in awe. The video shows Senna taking a ride back to the garage on Mansell's car after the latter had just won the race — and was gracious enough to offer a lift. Nigel Mansell had won the 1991 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, starting from pole position while racing for Williams-Renault. Ayrton Senna, who finished fourth, ran out of fuel in his McLaren-Honda on the final lap. True to his sporting nature, he accepted the lift back to the pits. Fans call the British Grand Prix moment 'iconic' F1 fans hailed the moment on X, calling it 'legendary' and 'iconic.' Many also questioned whether such an act would even be legal under today's regulations. One user commented, 'F1 history in one frame!' Another wrote, '@fia unban this stuff bro, drivers should be allowed to have fun.' A third said, 'This is one of my favorite F1 moments.' Another comment read, 'In today's highly regulated F1, both drivers would get points on their license and/or some kind of grid penalty for the next race. Lord save us from officialdom.' In the comments section, a user also shared another video clip and pointed out, 'You left out the funniest part — when the marshal tries to stop him and Senna pushes him away.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Tragically, Senna lost his life three years later in a racing accident during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Also Read: The British Grand Prix returns this year to Silverstone, scheduled from July 4 – 6. It's a special home race for McLaren's Lando Norris, who just claimed his third win of the season in Austria on Sunday.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Shubman Gill's Team India debates spin vs batting depth trade-off at Edgbaston
Captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir have some important calls to make ahead of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston (Picture credit - Sahil Malhotra/ in Birmingham: An extra spinner in the XI to contain the opposition. Focus on the lower-order for useful contributions. And, finding the right balance between batting depth and picking 20 wickets. These points largely summed up the theme of Shubman Gill's press conference and India's strategy on the eve of the second Test against England which gets underway at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on July 2. The conversation around Jasprit Bumrah remained where assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had left it on Monday, but the captain did add that the final call will be taken later that evening - unlike "last minute" as the Dutch coach had said. While Bumrah's unavailability could force a straight-swap in the fast-bowling lineup, which is likely to continue with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, and have Akash Deep as the replacement, but it's the support cast around them which has given a sneak peek into the team management's mindset. With Gill emphasising on the need for containing the opposition with the second spinner, the scales are heavily tilted in favour of Washington Sundar. 'It is not usual to play two spinners here but we have not had typical weather here and there has not been enough rain. In the last match also, we felt that if we had an extra spinner in the 4th innings, the game could have been better. There were some patches in the wicket that we could have exploited. Whenever Jaddu Bhai was bowling, we felt that chances were being created. We felt that it is easier to contain the runs for spinners than for fast bowlers, especially when the ball is old. We feel that maybe a second spinner on these kinds of wickets will at least contain a run until the second new ball arrives, where there are more chances," said Gill in the presser. India's XI Puzzle Ahead of 2nd Test | Jaiswal Shifted, Kuldeep or Bumrah? Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir need to finalise the two spinners out of the three in the squad. While Ravindra Jadeja looks locked, the big call needs to be taken between specialist Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounder Sundar. While batting and lower-order contributions are expected to be crucial factors, another aspect that will be taken into consideration will be the role on Day 1. Sundar is very comfortable bowling with the hard new ball and even Kuldeep was practicing with the shining Dukes this week. 'They are difficult calls for sure. If you are going with an extra spinner, the only thing that you have to see is how do you manage him on Day 1 if you are bowling on Day 1. And ideally, if at all there is anything on these kinds of wickets, it is on Day 1 in the first session or first couple of sessions. So, taking a call on that and seeing how you manage your second spinner, especially on Day 1 is the main call that you have to take on these kinds of wickets,' explained Gill. Poll Who should be the second spinner alongside Ravindra Jadeja? Kuldeep Yadav Washington Sundar Neither, stick with one spinner The likely template for the second match is an extension of what we have seen in the past where India's obsession with batting depth has left them digging a hole for themselves. The side has lacked the stomach to field specialist bowlers and ever so often, matches have ended with a "what could have been" storyline. They find themselves in a similar position in Birmingham and that crucial call could well point towards the mindset this Test team, under Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir, is likely to have in the near future. There are good arguments both in favour and against Kuldeep and Sundar but if the coach and captain walk the 20 wickets talk, Kuldeep walks into the XI but if the likely obsession on depth continues, Sundar starts. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
