Alex Dunne finishes second in Austrian F2 race, loses standings lead
ALEX DUNNE FINISHED second in Sunday's Formula 2 feature race in Austria.
The Offaly man, racing for Rodin Motorsport, started in seventh and worked his way through to finish 1.1 seconds off race winner Richard Verschoor.
The result sees Dunne slip to second in the Drivers' Championship, with 108 points to Verschoor's 114.
The 19-year-old had held a one-point lead heading into Sunday's race.
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On Friday, Dunne finished fourth in his first ever F1 session at the Austrian Grand Prix as he temporarily deputised for Lando Norris.
Dunne will be back in action at the F2 British Grand Prix next weekend.
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Irish Times
19 hours ago
- Irish Times
Lando Norris holds off Piastri to win Austrian F1 GP after Verstappen crashes out early
Lando Norris won the Austrian Grand Prix after a tightly contested, tense battle with his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. The pair delivered an immense fight but the British driver held the upper hand to take the flag. However world champion Max Verstappen's title hopes took a huge setback when the Dutchman was knocked out of the race on the opening lap, having been struck by the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli. Ferrari enjoyed a strong return at the Red Bull Ring, with Charles Leclerc third and Lewis Hamilton in fourth. George Russell was fifth for Mercedes. Having clashed at the last round in Canada, hearts must have been in mouths at McLaren as Norris and Piastri vied to thrilling effect over the opening third of the race, ducking and diving at one another in what was a bravura display that remained nip and tuck all the way to the flag. However it was Norris who held his nerve and the edge over his team-mate and closed out the win with superb control. No little redemption and an enormously resilient comeback after his misjudgement in hitting Piastri in Montreal. READ MORE He has closed the gap to Piastri to 15 points but for Verstappen, the title now looks to be a monumental mountain to climb. He was unceremoniously smashed into by an over-eager Antonelli at turn three on the first lap, the world champion's race over in seconds as he now trails Piastri by 61 points, a gap that appears all but insurmountable given the pace advantage McLaren already enjoy over Red Bull. The victory is a huge fillip for Norris in what looks likely to be an even more closely-fought title fight with Piastri. Norris badly needs to demonstrate he is still very much in the game and did so emphatically in Austria, with a dominant pole followed by an equally controlled and assured victory, his third of the season and one indicative that he is determined not to allow his team-mate to take charge of the championship battle. More importantly it might suggest something of a turning point for the British driver. He has struggled a little this season, lacking the responsive feel from the front axle of the car he likes to push it to the limit through corners and it has caused him issues, particularly in qualifying. However McLaren brought a major upgrade to Austria with front and rear aero improvements but vitally for Norris, also on his car is a front suspension development they were hoping would give him the feel he requires. In the race he was clearly enjoying a car beneath him that was positively purring as he tickled it beneath the eaves of the Styrian mountains. This was the Norris who entered the season as title favourite and who, on this form, may yet reassert that role over Piastri. Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli crash. 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Piastri, with DRS, was all over Norris's gearbox with the British driver unable to break away. The pair went wheel-to-wheel side-by-side throughout the opening corners of lap 11, barely inches apart in a gripping tussle. Piastri edged ahead only for Norris to come back at him. Norris just held on as they battled hard but clean in a race of their own. The pressure on Norris was immense as the contest continued but the British driver held his nerve and the place. On lap 20 Piastri once more had a look into turn four but could not make it and he locked up. Through the two sets of pit stops there was little between them and in the final third Piastri was undeterred and once more closed to within three seconds with 10 laps to go and Norris had to keep his head down as he navigated traffic and attempted to maintain the lead. It was a tense, gripping finale. Piastri moved to just under two seconds but Norris had iron will out in front, flawless to check out the final laps and take the flag. Meanwhile, Ireland's Alex Dunne finished second in the Austrian Grand Prix feature race on Sunday but was later disqualified as his Formula 2 title rival Richard Verschoor claimed victory. Formula 2 issued a statement revealing the DQ over an issue with dimensions on Dunne's car. Dunne will next turn his attentions to F2's British Grand Prix next weekend, the eighth round of 14 in the 2025 calendar. – Guardian
Irish Examiner
21 hours ago
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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Lando Norris pips McLaren team-mate to Austrian Grand Prix victory
LANDO NORRIS won the Austrian Grand Prix by the skin of his teeth as his teammate Oscar Piastri hunted him down from start to finish. There was no rest for the two McLaren drivers in their brewing title fight as both had their claws out again following their crash in Canada . 2 Lando Norris keeps his title hopes alive Credit: AP 2 McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates after winning the Austrian GP Credit: Reuters Piastri is the silent assassin, going about his business quietly, but absolutely lethal on track, particularly when it comes to inflicting the fatal blow on his teammate. The Aussie was driving so fiercely it was like he wanted to get his own back for Norris crashing into the back of him in Canada last time out and on the final lap was just over ONE SECOND behind him. He was snapping at his heels from start to finish, easily dispatching race and keep his title hopes alive. Leclerc finished third and read more in sport He slammed the 'f***ing idiots' on the team radio with it being his first retirement in 462 days. Red Bull's disastrous weekend at their own stadium is symbolic of their decline in general as Yuki Tsunoda finished in last place. Drama began before the race had started in the sizzling hot Styrian mountains as Things went from bad to worse after a terrifying qualifying where he finished in 19th, he was then stuck to the starting line at the formation lap. Most read in Motorsport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS He said on the team radio at the time: "Something is stopping the car from moving forward" and the start was aborted by 10 minutes before he finally got going. His rear brakes both then caught fire at the end of the pit lane with mechanics armed with extinguishers rushing to put the blaze out. As the fire continued to burn, Sainz was told on the radio: "Game over" before stepping out of his Williams with them left with one car in the race. When things got going Kimi Antonelli was the culprit of his first rookie mistake as he smashed into the side of Verstappen. Fears Lando Norris' extreme fitness regime is UNSUSTAINABLE as F1 star's workout and diet are revealed The fuming four-time world champ slammed the 'f***ing idiots' on his team radio. It was Verstappen's first retirement in 462 days and a huge moment for the championship . Piastri had squeezed past Leclerc at the start and it didn't take long for the Aussie to be snapping at the heels of Norris. On lap 11 Piastri had even taken the lead but Norris nosed back ahead with DRS. Piastri nearly bulldozed into the back of his teammate on lap 20 after going very deep at turn 4 before Norris pitted. The day couldn't have gone much worse for Red Bull as Yuki Tsunoda was slapped with a 10-second time penalty for making contact with Franco Colapinto on lap 31. The McLarens were storming ahead and Leclerc in third was a whopping 20 seconds off the lead. Hamilton was involved in a tense stage with his race engineer over whether to pit with 20 laps to go. The seven-time world champ wanted to extend while Ferrari wanted him to come in and he reluctantly followed orders. Norris was told a cryptic message on the radio of 'this is the Germany situation' with him still leading before both McLarens pitted. Franco Colapinto nearly took Piastri out though, veering into the Aussie's path and forcing him off track and onto the grass. The Argentine Alpine driver was eventually hit with a five-second penalty for the wild move. Piastri was not giving up without a fight and with one lap to go he was just over a second behind Norris, who managed to survive.
