Pakistan, June 29 -- Lando Norris bounced back from his Canadian catastrophe with his customary smile on Friday after topping the times ahead of team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri as McLaren reeled off a solid 1-2 in practice at the Austrian Grand Prix.

As the paddock digested news that Mercedes had held talks about possibly signing Max Verstappen from Red Bull alongside George Russell in 2026 Norris clocked a best lap in one minute and 4.580 seconds to beat Piastri by 0.157 seconds. Four-time champion Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull, adrift by 0.318 seconds.

For Norris, who sat out the first session at the Red Bull Ring, it was a relief to move on from his collision with team-mate Piastri in Montreal where he...