George Russell has taken a dominant win at the Austrian Grand Prix, staking his claim in the championship battle. Almost four months after his season-opening victory in Melbourne, the Briton dominated from pole position to the chequered flag in Spielberg—unfazed by the fierce battles behind him.
Russell is now back up to second in the overall standings and trails his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who finished third, by just 40 points. “It’s incredible to be back on top, it took a while,” said a soaking-wet Russell after the race, “now I’m looking forward to a drink first.” After difficult weeks, he stressed: “I had to remind myself that I can still do it—that was very important. The tough races really put you to the test.”
Max Verstappen delivered a stellar recovery drive in the upgraded Red Bull: he sliced past both Charles Leclerc and Antonelli in the opening phase within three corners and climbed to third. On lap eleven, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fought wheel-to-wheel, with the seven-time world champion initially holding the upper hand—but two laps later, Hamilton was the first top driver to pit. After the tyre change, the duel intensified, and on lap 22, Verstappen sealed the deal in his favour, ultimately securing second place.
Hamilton, meanwhile, fell victim to a questionable Ferrari strategy: while all the top teams opted for two stops with a harder tyre compound, the Scuderia sent their star out on soft rubber at one point. Hamilton made three stops and tumbled down to fifth place—a bitter setback just two weeks after his first Ferrari victory. Leclerc also lost ground after an initial battle with Hamilton and slipped to fifth.
Air temperatures of around 35 degrees and asphalt temperatures of over 50 degrees made the race a gruelling test of endurance for man and machine. “It’s going to be a tough nut today for man and machine,” Nico Hülkenberg had told Sky before the start.
Russell himself warned: “This is probably the hottest I’ve experienced in the last few years—everyone is going to have problems.” The tyres in particular struggled under the extreme conditions, and Cadillac was also forced to call both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez into the pits early with overheating brakes. Verstappen closed in on Russell inch by inch in the closing stages, cutting the gap to within 1.5 seconds—but he couldn’t get any closer to the winner after that.
Hülkenberg missed out on points in the eighth of 22 championship rounds with his new team Audi once again. The Emmerich native had started 14th and finished 12th.
