Norris closed the gap further in the Drivers’ Championship after securing a dominant victory at the Spielberg circuit, with Piastri finishing second and Leclerc completing the podium in third.

The race was delayed by 15 minutes at the start after Sainz’s Williams failed to get going on the formation lap. The Spaniard was taken to the pit lane, but just as he was lining up in his slot, his brakes caught fire, prompting the use of extinguishers and forcing the start procedure to be aborted.

Once everything was reset, Norris maintained the lead off the line, while Piastri overtook Leclerc. The real drama unfolded further back, as rookie Antonelli misjudged his braking in the Mercedes and collided with Verstappen, taking both drivers out of the race and triggering a safety car.

As a result of the chaos, Colapinto took advantage to climb to 11th place, a position he held as the race resumed. At the front, the McLarens led with Norris ahead, followed by the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton, while Russell slotted into the top five.

Colapinto’s luck took a downturn on lap 31 when Tsunoda struck the Argentine’s Alpine while attempting an ill-judged overtake with no room. Tsunoda was forced to pit for a new front wing, while Colapinto dropped to 14th. Race control handed the Red Bull driver a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.

Piastri managed to reduce the gap to Norris to under 1.5 seconds but was never able to mount a serious challenge for the win. Leclerc held on to third, with Hamilton fourth and Russell rounding out the top five.

Late-race excitement came from the battle between Alonso and Bortoleto for seventh, which the Aston Martin driver ultimately claimed. In the end, both Saubers scored points, with Hülkenberg in ninth and Ocon in tenth. Lawson retained sixth.