NORRIS HOLDS FIRM TO THWART OSCAR WINNER

LANDO NORRIS was begging for help from his McLaren team with less than 10 laps to go and title rival Oscar Piastri piling on the pressure.

- By Daniel Moxon

Perhaps it was a sign that he still does not fully believe in himself.

But he should, because the whole Austrian Grand Prix weekend in Spielberg was the perfect response to the embarrassment of the Brit crashing into his team-mate two weeks ago in Montreal.

He dominated qualifying and, even if Piastri showed slightly more pace at times during a sweltering race, Norris dealt with the only attempted overtake with aplomb — by swiftly snatching back the lead.

The McLaren pair survived another near-miss as Piastri locked up his brakes and almost slammed into Norris.

But, despite that unfortunate collision in Canada, the team allowed their drivers to race hard, but fair.