Live: McLaren teammates battling for the win, car catches fire in the pits

Lando Norris has been able to extend his lead from 3 to 3.5 seconds.

Oscar Piastri is now passing the backmarkers, which Norris had to do in the previous couple of laps.

Passing backmarkers makes you slower.

Norris’s tyres are four laps older than Piastri’s, who theoretically should be the quickest of the two at the end of the race.

Norris has just been given a clear instruction over the radio.

“Our goal here is obvious, we just keep Oscar out of our DRS.”

The gap is 3.9 seconds.

Oscar Piastri has taken a bunch of time out of Lando Norris’s lead.

The gap is down to 3 seconds.

Some of that is down to Norris needing to overtake backmarkers, but Piastri will need to deal with that in the next lap or two.

Oscar Piastri is slowly bringing down the gap to his teammate, and race leader, Lando Norris.

The Australian does have fresher tyres.

Piastri has been told that Norris is approaching backmarkers, and he could have an opportunity.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda has been handed a 10-second time penalty for crashing into Alpine’s  Franco Colapinto.

Meanwhile, at the front, the leading four, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, are all on hard tyres.

There is contact at turn four.

Red Bull’s last remaining driver in the race, Yuki Tsunoda, dives up the inside of the Alpine on  Franco Colapinto.

Tsunoda clips the rear-right of  Colapinto.  Colapinto spins around.

The Frenchman is able to continue, and Tsunoda pits after sustaining damage to his front wing.

Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri by 6.4 seconds.

Piastri has tyres that are four laps fresher.

The Australian lost time by staying out on his first stint, then having a slow stop.

Oscar Piastri has been told his attempted overtake on lap 20, when he locked his wheels and came close to hitting Lando Norris, was too close for comfort.

“Feedback from the pitwall. The manoeuvre into turn 4 with the front lock up was too marginal. We can’t do that again.”

In Piastri’s defence, he didn’t hit Norris.

The Australian pits for his first stop.

It’s another slow stop for a McLaren driver.

Piastri was stationary for 3.4 seconds. Norris was stopped for 3.1 seconds.

They want to be less than 2.5.

Piastri has come out about six seconds behind Norris, more than hoped by his team.

Piastri has prioritised fresher rubber, but he has lost a chunk of time.

Oscar Piastri leads the race after his teammate pits.

His race engineer has told him to push now that he has free air.

Oscar has just been asked an important question:

“Better to be four seconds behind with more delta, or 1.5 seconds behind?”

Let me decode. Does Oscar want to:

• Pit now and be 1.5 seconds behind Norris with minimal difference in tyre life?
• Stay out and be four seconds behind Norris, but have much fresher tyres?

Oscar says he wants to stay out.

After surviving another Oscar Piastri attack, Lando Norris has come into the pits.

It is a slower stop. He was stationary for 3.1 seconds.

Oscar Piastri has gone for the move up the inside of turn four.

He is going too fast.

Piastri locks up his tyres. OH BOY. That was close to a crash.

Norris stays ahead.

Alex Albon is out.

Both Williams are out of the race.

Oscar Piastri in all over the rear wing of Lando Norris.

He elects not to make the move at the start of the DRS series.

I think Piastri could have made the move into turn one.

The problem is — like on lap 11 — Norris would then be allowed to open his rear wing.

Piastri wants to make the move into turn four.

Lando Norris remains in the lead, but Oscar Piastri will not give up the chase.

And to answer this reader’s question, yes.

Both McLarens are on new medium tyres.

Oscar is so close.

He goes for the move. HE MAKES IT BEFORE TURN 3.

The Australian leads, but Lando Norris now has his rear wing open down to turn four.

They are side-by-side, and Norris holds firm.

Norris retains the lead.

Great racing.

Oscar Piastri is a little closer to his teammate on this lap.

At the end of three consecutive DRS zones he is so, so close.

The issue for Oscar is, when they are not in a DRS zone, the turbulent air from Norris’s car will hurt his tyres

The Austrian Grand Prix is already a two-car race.

Lando Norris leads by less than one second to his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.

The Ferrari’s of Charles Leclerc (third) and Lewis Hamilton (fourth) are more than three seconds adrift.

Oscar Piastri is within one second of his teammate Lando Norris.

The Australian has a look up the inside at turn four!

But Norris is a little too far ahead and the Brit maintains the lead.

Green flags are out, and Lando Norris puts the foot down.

Oscar Piastri is in hot pursuit.

Norris has made a nice restart and will not be under threat from the Australian on this lap.