Lando Norris emerged victorious in the McLaren showdown, securing a morale-boosting win in Austria that revitalises his world championship campaign. Norris maintained his composure during an exhilarating face-off with Oscar Piastri to clinch his third victory of the season, narrowing the title gap with his team-mate from 22 points to 15. Just two weeks after Norris collided with Piastri in Canada, the McLaren duo came perilously close to another crash on the 20th lap of the 70-lap race. Piastri briefly lost control of his vehicle while attempting an aggressive manoeuvre at turn four, before receiving a warning against repeating such a move – a clear indication that McLaren had decided to halt the internal battle. Norris crossed the finish line 2.7 seconds ahead of Piastri, with Charles Leclerc claiming third place. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, extending the seven-time world champion's wait for his first podium finish in Ferrari colours to his home race at Silverstone next weekend. Max Verstappen's race was cut short after just three corners when he was knocked out by Mercedes' young driver Kimi Antonelli. The early exit leaves him trailing by 61 points in the championship race. George Russell secured fifth place for Mercedes. After the collision with Piastri in Montreal left his championship aspirations teetering on the edge, Norris admitted he felt like a fool. However, he has made a remarkable comeback in the Styrian mountains, securing a commanding pole position and fending off Piastri for a resounding victory. Norris executed a perfect start to keep Leclerc at bay during the 200-metre sprint to turn one, with Piastri then taking his McLaren around the outside of the Ferrari to snatch second place, giving him an unobstructed view of his team-mate ahead. Verstappen had branded his car "undriveable" after a disappointing qualifying that left him in seventh on the grid. His difficult weekend came to an abrupt end on the first lap when Antonelli crashed into him like a torpedo at the third corner, effectively ending the four-time world champion's race. "I'm out, got hit, like crazy," Verstappen radioed in. "F****** idiots." Meanwhile, in the other Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda received a penalty for colliding with Franco Colapinto and ended up finishing in 16th place, rounding off a dismal weekend for Red Bull at their home Grand Prix. At the front, following the safety car period triggered by the opening lap incident, racing resumed at the end of lap three. Norris managed to maintain a gap of less than a second over Piastri for the next 16 laps. Piastri made his move on lap 11, overtaking Norris as they approached turn three. Norris, however, didn't put up a fight, anticipating a better exit would give him the momentum needed on the downhill stretch to the next corner, and his tactical thinking paid off as he reclaimed the lead on the inside of the right-hander. The two drivers maintained clean racing, with the gap staying at half a second. On lap 15, Norris went wide on the final bend, which gave Piastri the opportunity to close in, but the Australian held off any further challenge. The race was tightly contested until Piastri made a daring attempt at an overtake on lap 20, nearly colliding with Norris' car after locking his front-right tyre. McLaren quickly called Norris in for the first of his two tyre changes, while Piastri, seemingly as a consequence, remained on track with a damaged tyre for four more laps, losing precious time. By the time Piastri pitted, Norris had gained a six-second advantage. "The feedback from the pit-wall was that the move into turn four was too marginal and we can't do that again," Piastri's engineer, Tom Stallard, communicated to him. Norris went in for his second tyre change holding a three-second lead, and although Piastri also pitted shortly after, he had a close call when overtaking Colapinto. With ten laps remaining, Piastri had closed the gap to two seconds, prompting Norris to request more pace from his team. However, Piastri couldn't catch up, and Norris crossed the finish line first, securing his seventh career victory ahead of the British Grand Prix. "We had a great battle, that's for sure," Norris reflected. "It was a lot of fun, a lot of stress, but a nice battle. It was tricky, hot and tiring, but the perfect result as a team." Piastri expressed regret over the radio, saying: "Sorry for my move at turn four, that was my bad." He further stated: "I tried my absolute best and I probably could have done a better job when I momentarily got ahead. It was a bit on the edge, and I might have pushed a bit too far, but it was a good race and that is what we are here to do, to race each other and fight for wins."