George Russell snatched a gift-wrapped win in the Qatar Airways Austrian Grand Prix on a windy Sunday (June 30th) when a lengthy battle for the lead between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris escalated with a collision on lap 64. Russell held off Oscar Piastri over the final seven laps for his first win of the season and Mercedes’s maiden win of the year.
“Incredible,” Russell said afterward. “I think it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold onto that P3. The team have done an amazing job to get us in this fight. You’ve got to be there in the end to pick up the pieces, and that’s where we were.”
“I couldn’t believe how close we were to Max and Lando – only about 12-13 seconds behind, and I knew there was a possibility; you’re always dreaming, and it’s great for the team to be back on the top step. We’ve worked so hard and made so many strides since the start of the season.
Carlos Sainz finished third, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen, who limped back to the pits after the collision. The Haas duo of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished sixth and eight, respectively, sandwiching Sergio Perez in seventh. RB’s Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth, and Pierre Gasly of Alpine took 10th. Norris retired after making it back to the pits, classified in last place.
In the driver standings, Verstappen’s lead over Norris in second place went from a 69-point margin to 84 (237 to 156). Leclerc is in third, only six points behind Norris.
Red Bull leads Ferrari 355 to 291 in the constructor standings, with McLaren third with 268.
The Race
Verstappen easily covered Norris at lights out down to Niki Lauda Turn and zoomed away down the straight while Norris dealt with a strong start from Russell, managing the maintain second.
Hamilton got by Sainz while Piastri and Leclerc made contact, damaging Leclerc’s front wing. Leclerc dove into the pits for a new wing for his Ferrari at the end of lap 1. Leclerc emerged in 19th, and the best he could hope for now was just to finish in the points, maybe only a point at that.
Up front, Verstappen’s lead was over a second by the end of lap two. Hamilton was glued to the rear of Russell, and Hamilton slipped by early in lap three, but Russell snatched the position back almost immediately.
Sainz passed Hamilton for fourth on lap six, and Sainz’s Ferrari was the team’s only hope for a podium. It had to…
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