Lando Norris storms to Austrian F1 GP pole as angry Verstappen slumps to seventh
Lando Norris enjoyed the stirring satisfaction of proving he still has skin in the game in the most emphatic fashion, taking pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix by more than half a second here on Saturday.His show of reinvigorated strength could not have sat in starker contrast than with the frustration and disappointment of Max Verstappen, whose seventh place in what he called an “undriveable” car will only have fuelled speculation about the defending world champion leaving Red Bull.That was addressed by the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, after qualifying.“It’s a lot of noise, I think Max gets quite annoyed by it,” he said.“We’re very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028.
Anything is entirely speculative that is being said,We tend not to pay too much attention to it,”For Norris this was the perfect comeback after his huge disappointment at having to retire when he crashed into his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, at the last round in Canada,Moreover, he did it with no little style and conviction,His margin of 0.
521sec over the second-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was an absolute chasm over the short lap at the Red Bull Ring, with Piastri in third, albeit with the Australian’s final quick lap stymied by a late yellow flag.It seems unlikely Piastri would have matched Norris even then, so in control was the 25-year-old.It was a performance he badly needed after his title hopes took a battering when he made the misjudged move against Piastri in Montreal, dropping him to 22 points behind the Australian.Norris was understandably pleased.“It was easily my best qualifying of the year from a delivery point of view, from every single lap I did,” he said.
“On delivery, consistency and putting it in when it counts in Q3, was easily the best lap I’ve done for this whole season,”Norris had talked up the notion that his error had ultimately resulted in a positive outcome, that he and the team emerged stronger now the seemingly unavoidable clash with Piastri had happened,This is credible, but it is still inescapable that misjudgments like that in Canada could cost him the title,For all the psychological compartmentalising and rationalisations, it must weigh heavy,He acknowledged he could not afford to continue to make mistakes.
In Austria, there were none, with a series of laps that were all but untouchable.1.Lando Norris (McLaren) 1min 03.971sec2.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:04.
4923,Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:04,5544,Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:04,5825.
George Russell (Mercedes) 1:04.7636.Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1:04.926 7.Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:04.
9298.Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) 1:05.1329.Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1:05.27610.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:05.649Q211.Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:05.12812.Alex Albon (Williams) 1:05.
20513.Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1:05.22614.Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1:05.28815.
Oliver Bearman (Haas) 1:05.312Q116.Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:05.32917.Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1:05.
36418.Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1:05.36919.Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1:05.58220.
Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) 1:05,606 The McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, acknowledged the crash would have left Norris’s confidence bruised and that the team would rally round him,They have been seeking to find a way to adjust the car to suit Norris and their first major upgrades of the season applied here – to the front and rear aero and, crucially for Norris, the front suspension, to improve the feel he has for the front of the car – look to have paid off,“It was the most confident and comfortable I’ve been in terms of getting lap time out of the car ,” he said,“It showed that when I have those feelings, I can have a day like today.
It shows the feelings I’ve been requiring, the feelings I’ve not been getting as easily, when they are more of my way and more where I want them to be, I can put in better performances.”It remains early days and consistency is key, as Norris emphasised, but if he genuinely has the McLaren where he wants it, as appears to be the case in Spielberg, it could become an electrifying title fight.It is a fight Verstappen increasingly appears to be left observing from the sidelines.Unhappy and clearly frustrated, he described his car as so lacking in grip in every type of corner that it was “completely undriveable”.His dissatisfaction was increased because Red Bull had brought what is likely to be their last major upgrade of the season to the race.
It was hoped a revision to the floor of the car would help address the balance problems that have plagued it all year but prompted Verstappen to say: “It’s even worse than before,”His seventh place was unlucky to an extent, as like Piastri he was forced to back off because of the late yellow flag, but he had not looked like troubling the McLarens at any stage and admitted he would still have been “miles off pole”,All of which will doubtless fuel further speculation about his future, which has already dominated this weekend,The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, confirmed he was once more interested in persuading the world champion to join his team,Verstappen refused to comment on this on Friday but with resources already almost all shifted to the new 2026 cars the pecking order and form are likely to be more or less settled from here on in and Red Bull remain off the pace being comprehensively set by McLaren.
US reaches deal with China to speed up rare-earth shipments, White House says
The US has reached an agreement with China to speed up rare-earth shipments into America, officials confirmed on Friday. The news sent US stock markets to fresh highs amid news of wider efforts to end the trade wars between the US and the world’s biggest economies.Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US had signed a deal with China the previous day, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would “open up” India.But the trade news was complicated on Friday afternoon when Trump announced he had called off talks with Canada over a digital sales tax. The S&P and the Nasdaq turned negative before recovering their losses
M&S boss slams ‘bureaucratic madness’ of products requiring ‘not for EU’ labels
The boss of Marks & Spencer has called on the government to rapidly reset relations with the EU and criticised new rules which demand extra checks and labelling on products headed from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland as “bureaucratic madness”.Stuart Machin, the chief executive of M&S, which has 25 stores in Northern Ireland, said that from next week the retailer would have to label 1,000 more products destined for the UK country with “not for EU” while another 400 items would require “additional checks”.The “not for EU” labelling is designed to prevent products intended for sale in Northern Ireland being moved to the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member.In a post on X, he said the change in rules added “yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for food retailers like M&S”.“Quite frankly it’s bureaucratic madness, confusing for customers, and completely unnecessary given the UK has some of the highest food standards in the world
Lotus plans to end UK sportscar production, putting 1,300 jobs at risk
Lotus is planning to end production of its sportscars in the UK and shift it to the US, a move that would put 1,300 jobs at risk and represent a major blow to the British car industry.The carmaker’s Chinese owner, Geely, is looking at options including manufacturing its Emira sportscar in the US, and permanently stopping production at its factory in Hethel, Norfolk, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s thinking. No final decision has been made.Workers at the factory, in a former second world war bomber facility, have not been informed of the plans. Lotus declined to comment on “rumours and speculation”
Wall Street hits record high on trade deal hopes; UK car exports to US halve due to tariffs – as it happened
UK car production has slumped to a 76-year low, as Donald Trump’s trade war hurt the British auto industry.Shipments to the US fell by 55.4% last month, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.The SMMT says:This was primarily due to the imposition by the US administration of a supplementary 25% Section 232 tariffs on cars from March which depressed demand instantly forcing many manufacturers to stop shipments.However, with the trade agreement negotiated by government due to come into effect before the end of June, this should hopefully be a short-lived constraint
Barclays and Jes Staley face fresh lawsuit in US over Epstein link
Barclays and its former chief executive Jes Staley are facing a class action lawsuit in the US over claims they defrauded and misled investors over Staley’s relationship with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.A judge in a Los Angeles court denied Staley’s request to dismiss the case this week, paving the way for a fresh hearing that continues a long-running legal saga emanating from Staley’s statements to regulators and investors over the nature of his ties to the disgraced financier.It is a bruising outcome for the American banker, who lost a legal challenge in the UK on Thursday against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which in 2023 had banned him for life from holding senior management roles in the City for misleading the watchdog over his history with Epstein.The US class action suit, led by pension funds in New York and Missouri, alleges that Barclays, its chair, Nigel Higgins, and Staley repeatedly misrepresented Staley’s history with Epstein to media and investors, starting in July 2019, weeks after Epstein was arrested on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.Court documents allege that this was done in an attempt to protect Barclays’ reputation and share price
Superdrug to add more stores as demand for weight loss drugs soars
An increase in demand for weight loss drugs, including Mounjaro and Wegovy, as well as demand among its generation Alpha customer base for beauty products is driving expansion at Superdrug.The retailer plans to add 25 more stores to its 800-plus strong chain this year as well as extending existing outlets, despite troubles across the high street that have led to the closure of hundreds of stores at its rival Boots and downsizing at chains from Poundland to River Island.Superdrug is bouncing back from difficult times during the coronavirus pandemic as demand for its weight-loss services almost 300% in the first half of this year compared with last year.While many of the drugs are ordered online via its private GP service, the retailer is looking at how it can adapt and expand in-store services to cater for demand so that its team of nurses can offer help with the potential side-effects, such as hair loss, for example. More serious problems, including with the pancreas, have also been flagged up in some cases
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