George Russell has won this morning’s Austrian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided late in the race while battling for the lead.
The defining moment came on Lap 64 of 71, with Verstappen defending his position and Norris moving to his outside at the uphill Turn 3. The Red Bull veered left and touched the McLaren, leaving both drivers with punctures and forced to limp back to the pit lane.
Norris retired with floor damage, while Verstappen returned to the track and finished fifth despite incurring a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision with the McLaren.
Russell, who was some 15 seconds behind the lead pair, inherited the lead and held on to take a 1.9-second win over Oscar Piastri. Carlos Sainz completed the podium ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who picked up early floor damage after hitting the Turn 8 kerb too hard.
Nico Hulkenberg secured Haas’s best finish of the season in sixth, triumphing in a final lap battle with Sergio Perez.
Kevin Magnussen was eighth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly, who completed the points.
In early proceedings, Verstappen threatened to run away with the race as he quickly put an advantage on the field from the pole and was out of DRS range of Norris after the opening lap.
Charles Leclerc was caught out at Turn 1 when he was sandwiched in the mid-field and collided with Oscar Piastri, damaging his front wing as a result. He returned to pit lane for a wing change, as did Logan Sargeant.
Verstappen’s lead sat at over six seconds before he came in for his first stop on Lap 23. Norris followed him in and was forced to brake to avoid a departing Max Verstappen, who was later cleared of an unsafe release by stewards.
The reigning World Champion extended his advantage on hard tyres through the second stint, with the gap growing to over eight seconds.
Norris, however, responded as the Red Bull’s tyres began to fade entering the second half of the race and reduced the margin to 6..5 seconds before Verstappen came in for his second stop on Lap 51.
The McLaren again followed the leader in and made significant ground when the Red Bull crew were held up while changing Verstappen’s left rear, triggering a chain of race-defining events.
With Verstappen on used mediums and McLaren having a pair of new ones on hand, the now two-second advantage quickly dissipated, and Norris was within DRS range shortly after.
The Miami Grand Prix winner attempted a series of lunges at Turn 3 over the following laps but was met with a black-and-white flag for repeated track limit infringements in the scuffle.
Norris again dived up the inside on Lap 59 and locked up, forcing the Red Bull wide into the runoff. The McLaren emerged with the lead but redressed to hand the position back.
He would later receive a 5-second penalty for the track-limit infringement, albeit after he had retired from the race.
The two remained close over the following tours, with Verstappen fending off a series of challenges until the two came together on lap 64 as Norris ran the outside line at Turn 3.
Both punctures shredded the tyres, with the rubber and debris left on the circuit triggering a brief Virtual Safety Car.
Russell, who sat over 15 seconds behind the leaders, emerged with the lead and took the win from a fast-finishing Piastri, who had earlier fended off Sainz for the position.
Verstappen was fifth across the line despite his puncture and 10-second penalty, but still placed ahead of his teammate.
Leclerc climbed from the rear of the field to finish 11th, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda.
Norris was the only non-finisher, with his floor damage sustained as he returned to the pits deemed too severe to continue.
Formula 1 returns next weekend with the British Grand Prix.
Header Image: Mercedes
