Russell secured his second victory in Austria.
Mercedes driver George Russell capitalized on a collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the final stages to claim a thrilling win at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix. Verstappen and Norris battled it out for several laps, but their clash ultimately allowed Russell to take his second career win. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished second and third respectively.
Due to the scorching track temperatures, most drivers opted for the Medium compound tires. However, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu chose the Hards and made a pitstop.
Similar to the Sprint race earlier in the weekend, Verstappen had a strong start and maintained his lead into Turn 1. Norris defended his position against Russell’s Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton overtook Carlos Sainz.
Further down the field, Charles Leclerc found himself squeezed between Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez, resulting in wing damage and a pitstop. Piastri was frustrated when Perez pushed him into the gravel while trying to overtake around the outside at Turn 4.
Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon took advantage of Leclerc’s misfortune, with Kevin Magnussen also making it into the top 10 for Haas.
Hamilton attempted to pass his teammate’s car and briefly secured third place at Turn 3, but Russell reclaimed the position using the DRS zone at Turn 4.
The stewards noted that Hamilton had gained fourth place by overtaking Sainz at the start off the track, and he was instructed to give the position back to the Ferrari driver.
Hamilton continued to put pressure on Sainz in his quest to regain a podium position, while Piastri made an impressive move around Perez’s outside at Turn 6.
As the race settled into a management phase, Magnussen held onto 10th place. However, Haas opted to make a pitstop on Lap 10, switching Magnussen to the Hard compound tires. He rejoined the track just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, with Leclerc’s Ferrari and Sargeant’s Williams still following behind.
Hulkenberg also made a pitstop on the next lap and emerged from the pits alongside his teammate, thanks to the undercut strategy. This allowed him to successfully overtake at Turn 4.
However, the German retaliated and replicated that maneuver on the Dane on the following lap, which prompted Magnussen to inquire whether Hulkenberg was preserving the tires.
In another part of the race, Leclerc’s tire degradation made him susceptible to Alex Albon’s fresher-shod Williams car, and a pass at Turn 3 saw Ferrari bring Leclerc into the pits.
Zhou was furious when Fernando Alonso pushed his Sauber car wide as the Aston Martin attempted an ambitious move to seize 12th place on Lap 21.
The Chinese driver was still using his starting tires and he lost more positions to both Albon’s Williams and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine on the next lap.
Hamilton’s pit stop triggered the rest of the field to follow suit, as Perez, Sainz, and Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate all came in over the next few laps, with Russell leading that group of cars.
Both Verstappen and Norris would make a pit stop once Lap 23 was completed to switch from Medium tires to Hard tires, while Piastri continued without pitting and took the lead.
Hamilton was under investigation when a moment of oversteer caused him to cross the white line at the entrance to the pit lane, resulting in a five-second penalty.
Meanwhile, Alonso also received a 10-second time penalty for his collision with Zhou’s Sauber, adding to Aston Martin’s miserable weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Piastri was the last driver from the leading group to pit on Lap 25 and emerged in sixth place, with a five-second gap to Hamilton in fifth.
Perez received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane earlier in the race. Behind him, Ricciardo led a group that included the two battling Alpines.
Leclerc had been informed that a points finish was still possible without any interventions, but he made a third pit stop before reaching halfway to switch to Medium tires.
Pierre Gasly questioned whether team orders could be used at Alpine in the battle with Alonso, as Ocon successfully made the pass into Turn 1 on Lap 36 to take 11th place.
But Gasly took advantage of the situation, overtaking Alonso and also making a move on Ocon, who pushed his teammate to the outside at Turn 3.
Alpine must have been concerned about another clash between their drivers as Gasly cautiously passed Ocon on the outside at Turn 4, but they managed to keep it clean and Gasly secured eighth place.
Gasly’s overtake was crucial because it allowed the team to prioritize him during the pit stops, and he came out behind the two Haas cars and Ricciardo.
Similar to previous races, Verstappen noted that the Hard compound tires were not performing well on his RB20, and Norris was closing the gap to just six seconds.
Albon was the leading Williams driver in 14th position, but he was penalized for crossing the pit entrance line.
As Russell struggled on the Medium tires and was overtaken by a lapped Lance Stroll, Mercedes decided to bring him in for a pit stop and switch to Hards.
Ferrari responded by pitting Sainz on Lap 47, changing from Hards to Mediums in hopes of securing a potential podium finish ahead of Russell.
McLaren once again demonstrated their superior race management as Piastri made a late move on Hamilton on the uphill climb into Turn 3.
Leclerc was losing time on worn tires, and Gasly was right behind him when he made a pass on the inside at Turn 3, taking 11th place.
Verstappen complained about tire degradation, and Red Bull strategized to find the best time to bring him in for a pit stop, which happened on Lap 51 alongside Norris.
However, Red Bull’s pit crew had a slow stop of 6.5 seconds, and Norris closed in to less than two seconds behind after a lock-up at Turn 4.
Norris was on a determined charge, within one second of Verstappen, allowing him to activate his DRS on the 54th lap.
Norris was in a good position to make a move on the Red Bull and seemed ready to do so on the inside at Turn 3 on the next lap, but Verstappen defended under braking.
Although Verstappen initially managed to escape the DRS range, Norris fought back and closed the gap, giving him a chance to challenge the Dutchman.
On Lap 59, Norris made a dive on the inside of Verstappen at Turn 3 to take the lead, but a lock-up caused him to run wide and surrender the position.
Verstappen faced pressure into Turn 4 on Lap 61, but he positioned his car perfectly to maintain his first-place position as the reigning F1 champion.
Norris replicated the maneuver he had tried multiple times before but managed to keep his vehicle on the circuit on Lap 63 and this time it was Verstappen who strayed off. The battle threatened to result in contact and that occurred as Norris went to Verstappen’s outer side at Turn 4, giving both drivers a tire puncture that ruined their aspirations. Russell took over the lead on the Hard compound, while Piastri, as the McLaren teammate behind, smoothly approached Sainz and swiftly overtook him on the outer side at Turn 6. Verstappen brought his damaged Red Bull back into the pits and returned on Softs in fifth, but Norris retired, with the Virtual Safety Car interrupting the proceedings. The stewards determined that Verstappen was responsible and he received a 10-second time penalty, although he had an advantage over Hulkenberg’s Haas car in sixth. Russell managed to maintain his lead over Piastri’s McLaren to triumph at the Red Bull Ring and secure his second career victory and Mercedes’ first since Brazil 2022. Sainz secured his return to the podium with a third-place finish in the sole Ferrari car in the points positions, with Hamilton in fourth in the second Mercedes and Verstappen back in fifth. Haas capitalized on the chaos that unfolded ahead to secure two cars in the points as Hulkenberg finished sixth and Magnussen in eighth position. Ricciardo increased his points tally for this season with a calculated drive to claim ninth place, while Gasly outperformed Leclerc’s Ferrari to take the final point in tenth place.