George Russell scored a surprise win at the Austrian GP after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided while battling for the lead. This handed Mercedes its first win since the 2022 Brazilian GP.
McLaren did have one driver on the podium, with Oscar Piastri finishing second, followed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
- Russell wins, 1.906 secs ahead of Piastri
- Norris retires after colliding with Verstappen
- Verstappen finishes P5
Verstappen, Norris collide
Verstappen held a comfortable lead for the majority of the race, but that came undone after the last round of pitstops. The Red Bull driver dived into the pits on Lap 52/71, but lost a chunk of time due to an issue with the left-rear wheelnut. He remained in the lead as he re-joined the track, but Norris was now less than two seconds behind him.
Crucially, Norris was on fresh medium tyres, while Verstappen was on a used set. Taking advantage of this, Norris soon got into DRS range and made a few attempts to overtake. The McLaren driver got ahead on Lap 59, but went off the track to do so and had to hand the place back. However, since this was Norris’ fourth track limits breach, he was handed a 5-second time penalty.
As the battle continued, just two laps later, Verstappen ran off the track while trying to defend his lead. The two then dramatically collided on Lap 64, resulting in both drivers picking up punctures. Norris was forced to retire due to the damage sustained, but Verstappen was able to re-join the track in fifth place. However, the stewards did hold Verstappen responsible for the clash and gave him a 10-second time penalty.
Russell puts Mercedes back on the top step
Russell inherited the lead and held on to it until the chequered flag to claim his second F1 victory. "I think it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold on to that P3,” he said after the race.
"I saw on TV that Max and Lando were going pretty hard. I knew Lando would want to try to get that race win, but the team has done an amazing job to get us in this fight. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces, and that's where we were," he added.
Sainz completed the podium in third place, followed by Lewis Hamilton. Despite his penalty, Verstappen held on to fifth place.
Haas walked away from the Austrian GP with a strong points haul as Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished P6 and P8, respectively. They were separated by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in seventh place. Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull and Pierre Gasly of Alpine rounded out the top 10.
2024 F1 championship standings
Even after a difficult race, Verstappen has extended his championship lead to 81 points over Norris. Charles Leclerc is third overall, six points behind Norris.
F1 will now head to Silverstone for the British GP between July 5 and 7.
2024 F1 Austrian GP results
Suraj Viswanathan
