SPIELBERG, Austria – George Russell took Mercedes’ first win of the season at the Formula 1 Austrian GP after taking advantage of a late collision between McLaren driver Lando Norris and championship leader Max Verstappen in a Red Bull on Sunday.
It was Russell’s second F1 victory.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished second, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. from Ferrari.
Norris attempted to take the lead from Verstappen with just seven laps to go when the two came together. The incident left Norris’ car unable to continue and Verstappen was given a 10-second time penalty.
Verstappen and Norris were locked in a battle for first place, with the British driver accusing his rival of ‘dangerous’ driving.
On lap 64, Norris collided with Verstappen’s Red Bull as he attempted to take the lead, causing significant damage to both cars. After Norris went out, the McLaren’s right front collided with the Red Bull’s left rear. Verstappen suffered a puncture on the left rear, and one of Norris’ tyres was also torn.
Verstappen and Norris limped back to the pits, while the former was able to continue after stopping for repairs. However, Norris was forced to retire.
The flashpoint saw Russell, who was in third place, take the lead by 15 seconds, and the British rider was able to capitalise on this to win for the first time since the Brazilian GP in November 2022.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, Verstappen fifth.
Verstappen had dominated the weekend and followed up his sprint race victory with another dominant performance in qualifying to take pole position.
The race came to life in dramatic fashion with 20 laps to go after Verstappen’s failed pit stop.
Red Bull was slow to tighten the left rear tyre, allowing Norris to shave 4.5 seconds off his seven-second lead.
On lap 55, Norris made his bid for the lead into Turn 3, but Verstappen put his Red Bull on top to stay ahead.
“He reacted to my move and you can’t do that,” Norris protested over the radio.
Three laps later, Norris sent his McLaren past Verstappen at the third corner, but Verstappen shot back at the next corner.
“He can’t keep moving after I move,” Norris said. “It’s just dangerous. We’re going to have a big shunt.”
With eight laps to go, Norris tried to take the lead again. Verstappen ran off the road in defense in the third corner and came back on the asphalt with his lead still intact.
“He forced me to leave again,” said Verstappen. “He just dive-bombed me. That’s not how you overtake.”
Russell was not surprised when the two collided again.
“They (Verstappen and Norris) went for it,” Russell said. “I knew it (the collision) was a possibility. You always dream and you have to be there to pick up the pieces.”
Verstappen was informed of his 10-second penalty and responded: “That’s just ridiculous.”
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg held off Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for sixth, while the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen finished in eighth. RB driver Daniel Ricciardo and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
Verstappen has 237 points, ahead of Norris, who is in second place, with 156 points.
The next race is the British GP on July 7.
AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
