Lando Norris, after the sprint race, accepted his third-place finish but was disappointed with how he lost the battle with Max Verstappen in Austria. “I messed up myself, leaving the door open like an amateur,” he admitted.
For weeks, the Englishman has been Verstappen’s main rival in the race for victories, and the sprint race at the Red Bull Ring was no different. Norris conceded that the Dutchman’s win was fair. “He was just a bit too fast for us today,” he said, referring to the gap with his teammate Oscar Piastri as well.
Piastri finished ahead of Norris in second place, a result of the lost battle in the early stages. “We had a good fight all together, but I could have done things better. I tried to overtake Oscar later in the race, but I was affected by dirty air. All in all, it was a fair fight and with a second and third place and many points, it was a good race for the team.”
Piastri echoed his teammate’s words after the race. “There was a big fight going on between Max and Lando in front of me. I was hoping to overtake both of them, or at least Max in the next round. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But it gives hope for a good result in Sunday’s race.”
The race is at 7 AM UST on Sunday, with the regular qualification first at 8 AM UST on Saturday.