In Formula One, points and podium positions are decided on race day—not during Friday practice, not during Saturday’s qualifying (sprint qualifying excluded). George Russell’s unexpected haul of points and race victory in Austria was thanks to Max Verstappen. Did Russell have the pace to beat Red Bull in Austria? No. Did George Russell deserve to win? Probably not, but a win is a win, and Russell finished the race in the lead by default.

Verstappen appeared to have the race sewn up; he started on pole and built a comfortable 6-second margin over Norris, his only real challenger throughout the weekend. The two pulled out a significant lead over third-placed George Russell, whose primary objective was simply to finish third.

There was a flurry of activity and dicing on the opening lap, eventually settling into a DRS train from third place onwards. At the front, Verstappen built a small but commanding lead; at one point, Norris put in a string of fast laps, but Verstappen seemed to extend his lead. However, the race dynamics changed on lap 52.

Both Verstappen and Norris made their final scheduled pit stops, and it soon became evident that Norris had more pace as he closed in on Verstappen. Norris made a number of attempts to overtake, but Verstappen defended assertively, sometimes moving under braking.

Norris relentlessly pursued Verstappen, making a move on lap 59, but Verstappen utilized his DRS to retake the lead a few corners later. Despite this, Norris had the faster car and on lap 64 saw an opportunity to pass Verstappen.

Norris attempted an overtake on the outside of turn 3, but Verstappen squeezed him, resulting in contact that caused immediate rear punctures for both cars. As they limped back to the pits George Russell inherited the lead.

Norris was forced to retire, while Verstappen managed to return to the pits without significant damage and eventually finished 5th, despite receiving a 10-second penalty for causing the collision allowing George Russell to take the honor of victory.

Austrian Grand Prix: Race Results

1 George RUSSELL
2 Oscar PIASTRI +1.906
3 Carlos SAINZ +4.533
4 Lewis HAMILTON +23.142
5 Max VERSTAPPEN +37.253
6 Nico HULKENBERG +54.088
7 Sergio PEREZ +54.672
8 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +60.355
9 Daniel RICCIARDO +61.169
10 Pierre GASLY +61.766
11 Charles LECLERC +67.056
12 Esteban OCON +68.325
13 Lance STROLL +1 lap
14 Yuki TSUNODA +1 lap
15 Alexander ALBON +1 lap
16 Valtteri BOTTAS +1 lap
17 Guanyu ZHOU +1 lap
18 Fernando ALONSO +1 lap
19 Logan SARGEANT +2 lap

Did not finish

Lando Norris – McLaren – crash