Third time lucky for Norris? The six talking points for the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix · RaceFans

Although Max Verstappen may have prevailed once again last weekend in Spain, there were signs that the world champion may no longer be the favourite heading into race weekends for now.

But after Lando Norris felt he threw away a chance at victory at the start on Sunday, he gets the chance to make up for this just a week later at one of his favourite circuits.

And as the third sprint round of the year, this could prove a key weekend in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships approaching the mid point of the season.

Here are the talking points for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Norris on a mission

For the last two grand prix Sundays, Lando Norris has gone to bed with that frustrated feeling that he had a potential race victory slip out of his grasp.

In Canada, he lost out on an opportunity to pit under a Safety Car on the same lap as his rivals behind which ensured that Verstappen emerged ahead of him. Then, on Sunday, he beat the world champion to pole position but could not hold onto the lead on the long run to turn one, eventually finishing second after a race-long strategy battle.

McLaren clearly have a car capable of going toe-to-toe with Red Bull at this stage of the season, with Norris admitting that his team probably had the quickest package last weekend. He wants to start capitalising on that performance by winning races, and there is perhaps no better venue for that than the Red Bull Ring, one that Norris has always been strong around.

“It’s been one of my best tracks in terms of my own competitiveness and my most successful tracks,” Norris said of the Austrian track after Sunday’s race. “Every weekend we go into now, the car’s performing extremely well. We’re always there or thereabouts within a couple of tenths of pole, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Sprint weekend number three

This weekend is not only the second round in a triple-header of races culminating with the British Grand Prix next weekend, but this will also be the third sprint round of six taking place in this year’s championship.

Following the first two sprint format weekends in China and Miami, this weekend will be the first held at a track which has hosted sprints before. The circuit has been a sprint round ever since the very first sprint was held back in 2021 at Silverstone. With its many long straights leading to heavy braking zones, overtaking is naturally encouraged around the venue, meaning it lends…