George Russell is back in the winners’ circle after a solid drive in the class-leading Silver Arrows to take victory at the Austrian Grand Prix. He finished ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Kimi Antonelli, his Mercedes teammate and championship contender.
The Mercedes driver crossed the finishing line 1.6 seconds clear of the four-time world champion with Antonelli completing the podium.
This has given Russell his first win since the Melbourne season opener after an disappointing start to 2026, as Antonelli ha taken five victories during that time to claim the championship lead.
But Kimi’s retirement in Barcelona last time out, which was won by Lewis Hamilton, gave Russell the perfect opportunity to strike back his points deficit after finishing second in Spain.
Russell followed that up by snatching pole from Charles Leclerc at the Red Bull Ring after Verstappen’s late crash, with Hamilton and Antonelli behind on the second row.
All four started on the medium tyres and it was a frantic opening lap that saw Russell holding track position, Antonelli go wide at Turns 1 and 3, before Hamilton overtook Ferrari teammate Leclerc at Turn 5.
That put Charles immediately under pressure from Kimi, who had still managed to keep fourth, and the championship leader launched his attack at Turn 1 on the second lap.
Although he briefly got ahead, he went off in the process much like lap one, so was forced to hand third position back heading into Turn 3 but this left room for fifth-placed Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver therefore made quick progress by overtaking Antonelli at Turn 5, before passing Leclerc the following corner, and subsequently closing in on Hamilton.
This set up an awesome fight between the former title rivals with Verstappen lunging down the inside of Turn 3 on lap 11, before Hamilton strike back at Turn 5 and completed his move the following corner.
It put Verstappen onto the gravel at the exit, prompting complaints from the four-time world champion, before the fight resumed after the first pit window where drivers all kept position.
On this occasion, however, Verstappen finally took second from Hamilton by again going down the inside of the Turn 3 hairpin on lap 22, before the Ferrari driver reclaimed place at Turn 5.
But having learnt from the previous occasion where he was on the outside into Turn 6, this time Verstappen moved down the inside of that corner to finally end the wheel-to-wheel duel.
It was only three laps later that Hamilton made his second pitstop though, moving from hards to softs, after Carlos Sainz suddenly lost power and stopped next to the pit wall to cause a VSC.
Yet Hamilton’s rivals stayed out – though Antonelli pitted seconds before the VSC – and in clean air Verstappen began to close on leader Russell while drivers fighting behind.
On lap 30, Antonelli overtook Leclerc for third at Turn 5 before the Ferrari driver dropped into sixth behind Oscar Piastri and Hamilton just seven laps later.
By this point Ferrari had resigned to fighting in the mid-points positions, as the Mercedes duo and Verstappen had moved clear come the second pit window.
It saw Russell stop for hards again on lap 44, just as Verstappen had got within two-seconds, but instead of instantly reacting, Red Bull opted to keep Max out for five extra laps.
That was ultimately the wrong strategy decision though as Verstappen left the pitlane ten seconds behind Russell, who had benefitted from fresher tyres during that window to all-but end hopes of Red Bull victory.
Red Bull was therefore left ruing what could have been and despite Max closing the gap across the final stages, George had done enough to take victory.
But Antonelli was not far behind Verstappen either, just 0.3 seconds, after late pressure, while a further 19.823 seconds off the podium was fourth-placed Piastri with Hamilton completing the top five.
Isack Hadjar and McLaren’s Lando Norris completed late overtakes on Leclerc to take sixth and seventh, the Ferrari in eighth, while Racing Bulls duo of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top ten.
This leaves Antonelli top of the championship on 171 points, 40 clear of second-placed Russell, who has now moved ahead of third-placed Hamilton with 125 points.
Silverstone is the next race and with two British winners in the previous two races, the home fans will be cheering for another popular winner at the British Grand Prix.
Austrian Grand Prix, race results:
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:26:37.979
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Ford +1.611s
3 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.986s
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes +21.809s
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +26.393s
6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Ford +29.399s
7 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes +31.505s
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +45.659s
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Ford +1 lap
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Ford +1 lap
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1 lap
12 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1 lap
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes +1 lap
14 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes +1 lap
16 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari +2 laps
17 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes +2 laps
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda +3 laps
Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda DNF
Carlos Sainz Williams-Mercedes DNF
Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari DNF
Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari DNF
George Russell has boosted his title bid by seizing victory in the Austrian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver taking his seventh career win ahead of a chasing Max Verstappen and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Russell made a smooth getaway from pole position when the lights went out, while Verstappen also bounced back from the disappointment of his crash in Qualifying to make gains in the early laps. Antonelli did not have an entirely smooth start, the Italian running wide on several occasions.
While Russell held a solid lead for much of the following laps, Verstappen – after engaging in more than one feisty battle with Lewis Hamilton along the way – made his way up to P2 as the race progressed, resulting in the Dutchman putting increasing pressure on Russell later on.
A tense end to the Grand Prix followed as, after his final pit stop, Verstappen set about cutting into Russell’s lead – just as Antonelli was also trying to chase down the Dutchman from third. But Russell ultimately crossed the line by 1.611s from Verstappen, the Briton also moving back up to P2 in the standings in the process.
Verstappen held off Antonelli by just 0.375s, bringing to an end an impressive day for the four-time World Champion, while Antonelli had to settle for third – meaning that he now leads the championship by 40 points.
Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, ahead of the Ferrari of Hamilton in fifth and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar in sixth. The other McLaren of Lando Norris claimed P7, followed by Charles Leclerc in P8 on a disappointing day for the Scuderia.
It was a better Sunday, however, for Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad grabbing the final points on offer in P9 and P10.
The Audi duo of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg both missed out in 11th and 12th, as did Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in 13th. Haas’ Ollie Bearman was P14, followed by the other Alpine and Haas cars of Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon respectively.
Williams’ Alex Albon and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso were the final classified runners in 17th and 18th. The latter’s team mate Lance Stroll retired from the running due to a suspected ERS issue, while Carlos Sainz’s race came to an abrupt halt when his Williams stopped on the main straight with a suspected electrical problem.
Finally it was a bad day for Cadillac, as both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas retired in the opening laps because of overheating brakes.
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George Russell hailed an “incredible” feeling as he returned to the top step of the F1 podium with a confident drive to victory in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Russell, who last won at the Australia season opener back in March, and subsequently endured a tricky run of races, nailed his start, managed Virtual Safety Car periods and kept a charging Max Verstappen at bay to convert pole into the win.
As a result, Russell reduced his deficit to Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli – who finished third – in the Drivers’ Championship, bringing the gap down from 50 points to 40.
Speaking after the race, and reflecting on his afternoon at the wheel, Russell said: “It’s incredible to be back on the top step. It’s been a little while, so I’m definitely going to enjoy this one this evening.
“A lot of hard work from my team to get us back on track. Obviously there was a tricky run of form at one point.
“Max and Red Bull were incredibly quick this weekend, so kudos to them, but thanks to everyone, thanks to the fans. It was pretty toasty out there, so I’m looking forward to a drink now.”
Asked about running wide at Turn 3 late on, in an otherwise faultless drive, Russell continued: “I was having to push every single lap, and when you push those boundaries there’s bound to be a small mistake or two in there, and I know how quick the guys were behind.
“Obviously Kimi has been extraordinarily quick this whole season, so every lap I was looking at the timing board. We pitted on the early side, and I knew it was going to be a long stint, but the team timed it to perfection.”
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Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff described George Russell as “cold-blooded” after the Briton’s commanding win at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Russell successfully converted pole position into the race win at the Red Bull Ring. It marked his first grand prix win since the season-opener in Australia.
After winning in Australia and claiming the victory at the Chinese sprint race, Russell had watched on as his teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli took the lead of the championship after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix. The 19-year-old continued his winning streak with victories in Miami, Canada and Monaco.
“Since Q3 yesterday, until now, perfect execution [from Russell]. He was quick, managed the tyres well, cold-blooded, really happy for him,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1 after the race.
Wolff shed some light on the conversations behind the scenes to reassure the 28-year-old.
“He knows he can drive fast and sometimes you just have to put one and one together. Just drive! It’s never good when racing drivers think too much! We said the best race is the quickest race.
“Don’t manage, make sure you don’t kill the rears, but we are doing this by pushing the front [tyres] and that’s what he did, not thinking too much about strategy or the gap behind. Just go, go, extract the maximum from the car, and that’s what he did.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/toto-wolff-hails-george-russells-cold-blooded-austrian-gp-victory/10834549/
Max Verstappen reflected on an “extremely positive” Austrian Grand Prix, as the Red Bull driver finished on the heels of winner George Russell in Sunday’s race.
Verstappen started P5 for the 71-lap Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring having suffered a crash on his final Qualifying effort, but the four-time World Champion soon began to make progress.
The Dutchman disposed of Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in one move at Turn 4 on Lap 2 and moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton on Lap 22 after the first round of pit stops.
Verstappen’s pace moved him to within striking distance of Russell for the lead, but staying out longer before making his final pit stop meant he was left with too much work to do in the final stint, falling short by 1.6s at the chequered flag.
“I think it was of course a very good race for us,” said Verstappen, who claimed his best result of the season so far with P2.
“The first few laps were quite fun and then it was trying to manage your tyres and honestly, I think the car was in quite a good window for I would say half of the race.
“Then we picked up let’s say a few issues with the car which prevented me from basically finding that nice rhythm. But still, to be second and close to a win I think is extremely positive for us. So in that sense, I’m very happy.”
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Kimi Antonelli admitted his disappointment as early mistakes affected his chances of chasing down victory in the Austrian Grand Prix, stating that he felt he “didn’t drive well” during the first stint.
The Mercedes driver endured a shaky start to the race as he veered off the track multiple times on the opening lap whilst trying to improve from P4, and his brake issues ultimately led to him losing a position.
As those up ahead struggled with tyre degradation and headed into the pits, Antonelli inherited the race lead before his own strategy saw him emerge in third place. Despite his best efforts, he ran out of time to pass Max Verstappen for P2 and crossed the line just a few tenths behind the Red Bull racer.
Reflecting on the start, Antonelli said: “I was a bit too excited in the first laps and definitely didn’t drive well. Too many mistakes and even in the first stint with the medium, I lost 3-4 seconds with mistakes.
“I was struggling with the brakes but after we changed tyre I reset and the pace at the end was very strong. It was a shame I joined the party a bit too late.”
His experienced race engineer, Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington, informed him that he was suffering from a brake split that saw one brake get hotter than the other, but the problem seemed to ease as the laps ticked down.
While P3 marks Antonelli’s lowest race finish of the season, the valuable points mean that he still leads his Mercedes team mate by 40 points in the standings, with George Russell also reclaiming second spot with his first Grand Prix win since the opening round.
The Italian conceded that it “would have been a lot of fun” if a few more laps were on offer for him to fight for a better result, especially as Russell took the chequered flag less than two seconds ahead.
“Of course, congrats to George and Max,” he added. “Really great weekend. From my side, there is a lot to improve but still minimise the mistakes.”
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