Mercedes’ George Russell claimed a somewhat unexpected victory in the 2024 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix after a hugely dramatic end to the race. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided in the battle for the lead, dropping Verstappen down the order and forcing Norris to retire.
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While Verstappen had made a strong start from pole position to hold P1 for much of the race, a thrilling duel with McLaren driver Norris unfolded when both made their final pit stops on Lap 52 of 71, where Red Bull suffered a rare slower stop due to an issue with the left rear wheel.
With the gap between them at less than two seconds, Norris was hot on his rival’s tail and made more than one attempt to snatch P1. But it all came to a head on Lap 64 when the pair made contact, causing both to limp back to the pits with punctures.
This allowed Russell – who had long been running in third – to sweep through to take the lead in the Mercedes, which he held until the chequered flag to claim the second race win of his F1 career.
In what may have been a small consolation for McLaren, Oscar Piastri took P2 ahead of the lead Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in third. There was then a sizeable gap back to the Silver Arrows machine of Lewis Hamilton in fourth, while Verstappen crossed the line in fifth, a position he kept despite being handed a 10-second penalty for the incident with Norris.
Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen marked a strong performance for Haas by taking sixth and eighth, respectively. Sergio Perez’s Red Bull was sandwiched between them in seventh. Daniel Ricciardo claimed two points for RB in the ninth, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine rounded out the top 10.
It was an eventful day for Charles Leclerc, who recovered from a first-lap incident with Piastri to work his way up to P11 via four pit stops in the Ferrari. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon followed in P12, having earlier enjoyed a close battle with teammate Gasly.
Lance Stroll was the lead Aston Martin in P13 on what proved to be another tough day for the squad, ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in P14 and the Williams of Alex Albon in P15.
Kick Sauber’s wait for their debut points of 2024 continues, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu crossing the line in 16th and 17th, respectively.
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