Lando Norris’ Austrian Grand Prix weekend began with a costly McLaren delay after a hydraulic leak restricted his opening practice programme at the Red Bull Ring.
The issue left Norris in the garage until the final quarter of the session, cutting into one of the most important Friday hours of the weekend as teams worked through upgrades, heat management and baseline race preparation.
According to the FIA’s FP1 report, Norris completed only nine laps and finished seventh, 0.960s behind team-mate Oscar Piastri. Piastri still put McLaren third, behind Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, which sharpened the contrast inside the team garage.
McLaren lose time as rivals build rhythm
Antonelli’s 1m07.796s led Russell by 0.040s, while Piastri sat 0.117s off the benchmark. Norris’ limited mileage matters because Austria rewards confidence over the kerbs and punishes any setup compromise through its short, repeat-lap layout.
Red Bull also had trouble, with Max Verstappen delayed by anti-stall problems before recovering to fourth. But for McLaren, the warning is sharper: Piastri logged the reference run while Norris had to chase feel, braking balance and tyre read from a compressed programme.
The setback lands after ReadMotorSport detailed how Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari momentum has raised Austria’s title stakes. Norris now needs a clean second practice and qualifying build-up to keep McLaren in that fight.
