George Russell (Mercedes) won the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, taking advantage of a collision between Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who finished fifth, and Lando Norris (McLaren), who had to retire, on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring. The Briton, who started in third position, beat Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), giving Mercedes its first victory since November 2022.
The 26-year-old driver thus won the second victory of his career after that obtained in Brazil at the end of 2022, the latest for the German team. Russell took advantage of the battle between Verstappen and Norris which raged with around ten laps remaining and which ended on the 64th of the 71 laps of the race with a collision and a puncture for each of the two men fighting for the lead. victory.
Verstappen found guilty over Norris collision
While the Dutchman, who was found responsible for the accident and who received a minor ten-second penalty, was able to restart after changing tires, the Briton was unable to leave the pits because his wing was also damaged. Even though victory eluded him, Verstappen still had a good run as he increased his championship lead over Norris by 12 points, to 81 points.
Oscar Piastri, who had a remarkable race, finished second, less than two seconds behind Russell, ahead of Sainz, who was delighted to secure a podium finish after another difficult weekend for the Scuderia. His team-mate Charles Leclerc’s race was ruined at the first corner when Piastri hit him and damaged his front wing, forcing the Monegasque to pit for a replacement and say goodbye to a good result, even if he managed to climb from 20th to 11th.
German Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) caused a surprise by snatching sixth place after overtaking Mexican Sergio Perez (Red Bull) at the very end of the race. Dane Kevin Magnussen took an unexpected eighth place in the second Haas, while Australian Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls), threatened with losing his drive after poor performances recently, gave himself some respite by finishing in ninth position.
After placing its two cars in the points during the last two races, the Alpine team was unable to do it again in Austria since Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon finished 10th and 12th respectively. The two French drivers once again gave their team a cold sweat when they almost collided while overtaking Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) halfway through the race: Ocon spun a little wide and forced Gasly to go off the track, even if the latter was able to get back in front of the Spaniard.
A few laps later, a new skirmish took place between the two Normans and Gasly this time got the better of his teammate, before releasing an ironic “ciao” on the radio! The paddock meets at Silverstone (England) next weekend for a third Grand Prix in three weeks after Spain and Austria.