Austrian GP - Race

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Qatar Airways Austrian GP

Race

June 30, 2024

George Russell emerged as the winner of the Austrian Grand Prix following a collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

In a surprising turn of events at Spielberg, Austria, Russell clinched the victory as Verstappen and Norris crashed while battling for the top spot.

This triumph marks Russell's second career win and Mercedes' first win since his previous victory at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri of McLaren secured second place, finishing 1.9 seconds behind Russell, with Carlos Sainz coming in third.

Russell later stated: "Incredible. It was a tough start at the beginning of the race to hold on to that P3, and I saw on the TV that Max and Lando were going hard and I knew Lando would want to get that race win ... but you've got to be there to pick up the pieces...

"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.

"It's no secret with Red Bull and Max, and McLaren with Lando are still a little bit out in front. But we are always putting ourselves in that third place position in the last couple of races. If anything happens up front, we will then pick it up. What an exciting time for us," he added.

Verstappen was in control during the first part of the race, creating an eight-second gap before his second pit stop. However, a slow tire change allowed Norris to narrow the gap to three seconds when they both re-entered the track with 20 laps left.

Struggling with the performance of his car on the final set of tires, the Red Bull driver found himself in a close battle with Norris by Lap 59 out of 71, fighting for the lead side by side.

As the intensity of the duel escalated over the following five laps, Norris frequently communicated his dissatisfaction with Verstappen's defensive tactics to his team.

The expected clash occurred on Lap 64 when Norris tried to pass Verstappen on the outside at Turn Three, resulting in contact between the two cars.

The contact led to Norris suffering a right rear puncture and Verstappen a left rear puncture, causing both drivers to fall down the order as they headed back to the pits for repairs. Debris from Norris' car damaged the rear of his McLaren, resulting in his retirement upon returning to the pits, while Verstappen managed to resume the race in fifth position.

Verstappen was held responsible for the incident by the stewards and received a 10-second penalty, but this did not affect his ultimate finishing position.

Russell, who had been quietly holding third place, found himself at the front of the race. Piastri overtook Carlos Sainz for second place on Lap 65 and seemed poised for victory, but a virtual safety car to clear Norris' McLaren debris prevented the Australian from challenging Russell in the closing stages.

Piastri commented following the race: "There's a lot of 'what ifs' and 'maybes' starting from yesterday [referring to the demotion from third to seventh in qualifying for breaching track limits].

"I know it's only my fourth podium in F1 but being so close to a win it hurts, but really good points and the second half of the race we were coming on pretty strong and another podium."

In the meantime, Sainz stated: "Quite an eventful race for us upfront, it was all about trying to keep up with George. We knew Mercedes would have a bit of an advantage from race pace and we tried everything to keep up with him. Oscar was coming in really quick at the end ... P3 which is a good result, I think we can be quite happy and proud of that because this weekend hasn't been that good for us and to come away 15 points is a good result."

When questioned about the more intense competitions in the latest races, Sainz remarked: "Happy days for Formula One -- there has been some action up front and we are getting to see some nice battles. Unfortunately for us we are still coming off the back of a couple of races where we are still not quite there to fight for the win yet but we are doing everything we can to be back on form for Silverstone and the coming races."

Norris is now 81 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship standings.

The triple header will proceed with the British Grand Prix taking place at Silverstone next weekend.

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Austrian GP 2024 F1 Race Result

1. George Russell, Mercedes (1:24:22.798)

2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren (+1.906)

3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (+4.533)

4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (+23.142)

5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull (+37.253)

6. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas (+54.088)

7. Sergio Pérez, Red Bull (+54.672)

8. Kevin Magnussen, Haas (+1:00.355)

9. Daniel Ricciardo, RB (+1:01.169)

10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine (+1:01.766)

11. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +1:07.056)

12. Esteban Ocon, Alpine (+1:08.325)

13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (+1 Lap)

14. Yuki Tsunoda, RB (+1 Lap)

15. Alexander Albon, Williams (+1 Lap)

16. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber (+1 Lap)

17. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber (+1 Lap)

18. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (+1 Lap)

19. Logan Sargeant, Williams (+2 Laps)

Ret. Lando Norris, McLaren (+7 Laps)