F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Russell Triumphs and Closes the Gap on Antonelli. Verstappen Makes a Comeback, Ferraris Disappoint

George Russell returns to victory: the Mercedes driver wins the Austrian Grand Prix at the Spielberg circuit and savors success once again for the first time since the season-opening race in Australia. The British driver, starting from pole position, confidently led the race while fending off a resurgent Max Verstappen, and in the overall standings he has closed the gap to 40 points behind the leader and teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished third.

Joining him on the podium were Verstappen, who made a strong start, and Antonelli: the driver from Bologna, who slipped to fifth place after the start, managed to fight his way back to the podium by maintaining a very fast pace.

A major disappointment for Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth place, while Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in eighth place. This was a major step backward after Saturday’s excellent qualifying session. The Maranello-based team struggled with pace and strategy: much more was expected from the Scuderia, which also suffered from the improved performance of McLaren (Piastri finished fourth) and Red Bull (in addition to Verstappen’s second-place finish, Hadjar came in sixth).

Race Results (Top 10)
Russell
Verstappen
Antonelli
Piastri
Hamilton
Hadjar
Norris
Leclerc
Lawson
Lindblad