Lando Norris identifies crucial moment that ended Austrian GP hopes

Lando Norris has identified losing multiple positions on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix as the key moment that ended his hopes of scoring strong points.

The reigning world champion had looked more than capable of securing a top-five finish throughout practice, although he could only qualify sixth.

While Norris started from the third row, his best lap in qualifying was just 0.153s shy of a front-row start, creating some optimism for the race.

Unfortunately, he lost out to both McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar at the start, dropping him to eighth.

He remained there for much of what was a lonely race and ultimately finished seventh, three places behind Piastri.

"I mean, difficult for everyone, I think," Norris told select media, including RacingNews365. "There was nothing easy about the race with the temperatures we had. 

"I just lost out on lap one to a couple of cars and then lost out in the pit stops by having to box Oscar first to cover Hadjar.

"I lost out, and that was it, really. So, not a lot to complain about otherwise. We just lost track position, and track position was the most important thing. So, unfortunate, but that's the way it is."

Had Norris remained ahead of Piastri, it could have resulted in a very different race for the Briton, given that the Australian climbed to fourth.

However, Piastri got the better of Norris in their early battle, with the latter being careful not to make contact.

Addressing his early fight with Piastri, Norris replied: "For a few corners, yeah. It's always difficult, especially in some corners, not to over-push because your team-mate is there. 

"And, of course, he got the outside, so he did a good job. That's all."