George Russell claims surprise win in Austrian Grand Prix
Mercedes’ George Russell claimed a somewhat unexpected victory in the Austrian Grand Prix after a hugely dramatic end to the race saw Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collide in the battle for the lead, dropping Verstappen down the order and forcing Norris to retire.
While Verstappen had made a strong start from pole position to hold P1 for much of the race, a thrilling duel with McLaren driver Norris unfolded when both made their final pit stops on Lap 52 of 71, where Red Bull suffered a rare slower stop due to an issue with the left rear wheel.
With the gap between them at less than two seconds, Norris was hot on the tail of his rival and made more than one attempt to snatch P1. But it all came to a head on Lap 64 when the pair made contact, causing both to limp back to the pits with punctures.
This allowed Russell – who had long been running in third – to sweep through to take the lead in the Mercedes, which he held until the chequered flag to claim the second race win of his F1 career.
In what may have been a small consolation for McLaren, Oscar Piastri took P2 ahead of the lead Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in third. There was then a sizeable gap back to the Silver Arrows machine of Lewis Hamilton in fourth, while Verstappen crossed the line in fifth, a position he kept despite being handed a 10-second penalty for the incident with Norris.
Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen marked a strong performance for Haas by taking sixth and eighth respectively, with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez sandwiched between them in seventh. Daniel Ricciardo claimed two points for RB in ninth, and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-10.
It was an eventful day for Charles Leclerc, who recovered from a first-lap incident with Piastri to work his way up to P11 via four pit stops in the Ferrari. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon followed in P12, having earlier enjoyed a close battle with team mate Gasly.
Lance Stroll was the lead Aston Martin in P13 on what proved to be another tough day for the squad, ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in P14 and the Williams of Alex Albon in P15.
Kick Sauber’s wait for their debut points of 2024 continues, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu crossing the line in 16th and 17th respectively.
Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap on his final tour, but ended the day down in P18, having struggled for pace in the Aston Martin throughout the event as well as being handed a penalty for pushing Zhou off the track earlier in the afternoon.
Logan Sargeant was the final classified runner for Williams in 19th, while Norris – carrying a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits – ultimately retired in the pits following the damage sustained in his clash with Verstappen, ending a day that had been filled with promise in an unhappy fashion.
