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Lando Norris topples Lewis Hamilton as Britain’s youngest F1 podium finisher

The 20-year-old Briton edged out Lewis Hamilton by just 0.2 seconds for the last spot on the rostrum - AFP
The 20-year-old Briton edged out Lewis Hamilton by just 0.2 seconds for the last spot on the rostrum - AFP

Lando Norris toppled Lewis Hamilton as Britain’s youngest Formula One podium finisher - and then set his sights on landing his first win.

The 20-year-old delivered the most important 67 seconds of his life to set the fastest lap of the race with his final tour of Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring - and in doing so edge out Hamilton by just 0.2 seconds for the last spot on the rostrum.

Norris lit up the airwaves with a series of bleeped-out expletives before leaping out of his cockpit and into the arms of McLaren boss Zak Brown to celebrate a second podium in three races for the resurgent British team.

Norris poured a bottle of champagne over his head on the makeshift podium on the start-finish straight and was then whisked away to face the media.

But before he could answer what it meant to surpass Hamilton, who finished third for McLaren as a 22-year-old debutant in Melbourne 13 years ago, Norris said: "I need to get another mask because this one is full of champagne. I cannot breathe in it. I am really struggling."

Norris was handed a replacement orange face mask by a McLaren public relations officer.

"I don’t go out of my way to break these records," he continued. "It comes with hard work and getting on the podium in the first place.

"It is nice to know that it is a little extra that comes with it, but it is not the sole objective of why I am here in Formula One. I want to win races."

Norris started third but had dropped to fifth when McLaren hauled him in for fresh tyres during the second of three safety cars.

During a dramatic final 10 laps, Norris fell back another spot before passing team-mate Carlos Sainz and then succeeding with a gutsy move on Racing Point’s Sergio Perez.

Norris put in some strong laps at the end to secure third spot - Getty Images
Norris put in some strong laps at the end to secure third spot - Getty Images

His brilliant last lap ensured he would finish in the top three after Hamilton served a five-second penalty for his collision with Red Bull driver Alexander Albon.

"There were a few points in the race where I thought I had fudged it up," admitted Norris. "I had to put in some strong laps at the end and as you can see I am still out of breath.

"I would love to say we can achieve this again next weekend. We did have a little bit of luck but we have a good car and we’ve kicked the season off with a great result."