George Russell picked up an unexpected victory for Mercedes in the Austrian Grand Prix in the most dramatic of circumstances at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Sunday.
Max Verstappen had led for most of the race but struggled after a slow final stop, which brought him back within range of Lando Norris who turned the screws – only for the McLaren to end up making contact with the Red Bull.
Norris’ team mate Oscar Piastri recovered from P7 on the grid and a first lap clash with Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez to take second ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Despite storms and floods elsewhere in Austria, the weather over Spielberg remained sunny and dry albeit just a little cooler and much breezier than it had been for the Sprint race on Saturday. The same drivers were on the front row again for the main race, Max Verstappen on pole accompanied by Lando Norris, with George Russell and Carlos Sainz poised on the row behind making it four different teams in the top four.
The smart money was on Verstappen to keep the lead into the first corner, and the Red Bull duly did just that when the lights went out. Norris was under more sustained pressure from Russell for second,. while Lewis Hamilton swept around the Ferrari to take fourth from Sainz and immediately set his sights on attacking his Mercedes team mate. He got ahead the minute DRS was enabled on lap 3 but Russell fought back and retook the position seconds later.
The big loser at the start had been Charles Leclerc, who made contact with Oscar Piastri and damaged his front wing forcing him to pit for a replacement. He also took the opportunity to switch from his starter set of mediums to the hard compound. However the contact had left the Ferrari with floor damage, hampering his pace for the rest of the afternoon. Sergio Perez also had some sidepod damage after being caught up in the periphery of the Piastri/Leclerc clash.
Hamilton was ordered to give fourth back to Sainz after being deemed to have gained an advantage when he ran off track making his original pass at the start. Hamilton was soon applying the pressure again, but found it harder to find a gap this time. Behind them, Piastri made a nice move at turn 6 to pass the wounded Perez for sixth.
Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen were first to make scheduled pit stops on lap 12, earlier than expected, with Nico Hulkenberg in next time around to successfully undercut his Haas team mate. It provoked a response from others stuck in the same midfield DRS train but the top seven continued to plough on.
Verstappen had no worries about getting mired in DRS trains, having already pulled five seconds clear of Norris at the front by lap 15 and Russell a further four seconds back in third. Now in range of a two-sopper, Perez was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 22. Hamilton and Sainz following suit, but Hamilton slid outside the white line marking pit entry and was handed a five second penalty to serve at his second stop (Alex Albon committed the same offence later in the race). Fernando Alonso was also given a longer penalty for accidentally running into the back of Zhou Guanyu’s Sauber.
Russell and Sainz came in next, and then it was Verstappen and Norris, leaving Piastri briefly in the lead until his turn to pit came on lap 26 which reset the order of the leaders as it had been with Hulkenberg, Magnussen and Ricciardo rounding out the top ten. Verstappen’s lead over Norris was up to seven seconds despite the team paying close attention to the Red Bull’s gears. There was no action over Verstappen being released into the path of the McLaren on pit lane during his earlier stop, but Perez was penalised for speeding.
Gasly was trying to pass Ocon for 12th only to find himself forcibly swept wide at turn 3, inches from mutually assured destruction. “Why did he just run me off the track?” Gasly shouted down the Alpine radio. Watching the incident in his rear view mirror, Alonso’s comment was more succinct: ‘Wow.” The battle continued with an extended side-by-side battle on lap 41, which Gasly won shortly before the pair pitted soon after.
The early stoppers were now coming back in for their second service. Verstappen was reporting that his hard tyres were “suddenly really bad” on lap 40 putting him under pressure from the lapped Haas cars on fresh rubber. Russell was certainly struggling but he waited until lap 46 to make his stop for a final set of hard tyres. Sainz responded on lap 48, while Piastri was able to dash past Hamilton for
Verstappen and Norris made synchronised stops for fresh mediums on lap 51, a slow service for Verstappen slashing his lead to under two seconds even before he locked up on his outlap. Traffic was also holding him up bringing Norris back within DRS range. “Oh my God”, said Verstappen, declaring “There’s something wrong with the car, man,” as it struggled for grip. Norris finally out-braked Verstappen down the inside on lap 59 but couldn’t stop in time and ran wide, forcing him to immediately hand the place back before the stewards stepped in.
The battle raged with both drivers playing fast and loose with the rules and track limits with both pleading their cases to race control over the team radio. It ended with contact in turn 3 on lap 64, making Norris public enemy one with the Orange Army. The pair limped back to pit lane with punctures leaving Russell to assume the lead. Sainz was unable to fight off Piastri for second before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed for debris from the Verstappen/Norris clash.
The race resumed with four laps remaining, Russell able to control proceedings to win ahead of Piastri and Sainz with Hamilton a long way back in fourth. Verstappen was fifth despite a ten second penalty while Norris had retired. Hulkenberg narrowly claimed sixth ahead of Perez, Magnussen, Ricciardo and Gasly with Ocon just outside the points this time followed by Leclerc who was the last man left on the lead lap.
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Austrian GP: Russell wins after Verstappen/Norris drama F1i.com.
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