Lando Norris’s McLaren has been the car to beat in five of the last six races, the lone exception being the Monaco Grand Prix, and yet the British driver has only once managed to stand atop the podium, with that maiden win coming in Miami after an untimely safety car both in terms of its time during the race and its entry onto the race track undid Max Verstappen’s race.
In Imola, a determined and obviously faster Norris was unable to get up to the Red Bull; in Canada, the race remained his to lose even with an unfortunate safety car that favoured Verstappen; and in Spain, he was once more unable to catch up to a slower Verstappen.
Then in Austria, the script was similar to what it was in Imola and Spain, and this time, everything came undone for both drivers with a collision in turn three of the 10-turn, 2.683-mile (4.318-kilometer) Red Bull Ring.
Although Verstappen was expected to win the race, the two drivers rejoined the track in close proximity due to a delayed Red Bull pit stop. Despite closing the deficit before and after the pit stop, Norris was unable to pass the slower Red Bull, no matter how hard he tried, lap after lap.
