Norris reveals issues with his MCL39's battery in the early stages of the Spielberg race

Hot on the heels of his victory at last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris has revealed that he was hindered by battery issues in the early stages of the Spielberg round.

Having secured pole position for last Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix in dominant fashion, Lando Norris got a great start to maintain his lead. His team-mate Oscar Piastri also got off from the line well, and managed to pick off Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc through Turn 1.

After the start, it was a two-horse race to the flag. Piastri was within DRS range of Norris for the entire first stint, even overtaking for the lead, but immediately lost out as Norris regained his place. McLaren then elected to pit Norris for fresh tyres, leaving Piastri out on old tyres for a few laps.

Norris got the undercut advantage and wound up with a six-second lead through the second stint. They pitted one lap apart for the final stint, and while Piastri managed to get withing two seconds of his team-mate, the time ran out for him to get even closer.

Commenting on their long battle at the Spielberg race, Norris said: "I mean, we just had some good battles, and we've had a couple in the past. Granted, they probably didn't last as long as they did today, but no, I think we both knew what to expect from each other.

"We both want to race hard and race fair. It goes both ways, and of course, kind of have to put Montreal behind us and behind me for sure. It's something I wish never happened, but it was nice that we could go out and have a good battle and push things to the limits.

"There were still some close moments, but nothing that would make Andrea or the pit wall sweat too much," added the Briton.

Pressed on to reveal whether he was pushing hard in all three stints of the 70-lap Austrian Grand Prix, Norris revealed that he was battling some technical issues at the beginning of the race.

"Especially stint one. I think we got, like, ten laps here, and the gap was already, like, five seconds. And I knew what our pit stop window was going to be or was planning to be.

"And I was like, there's no chance we're going make it to the pit stop here. Oscar was pushing too, and I think we knew quite quickly that we weren't racing the Ferraris behind with a quick race car, and it was kind of eyes forward.

"But the first stint was difficult just because I couldn't get my battery up, and it was quite a strategic part of the race. And I was just always vulnerable for those reasons. But as soon as I did the pit stop, I could get the battery back up for the first time, and then I could be a little bit more comfortable," Norris concluded.