These laps by Russell were the key
In the end, Verstappen just missed out on attacking Russell for the victory. On fresher tyres, the Dutchman was constantly cutting the gap to Russell. That steady progress was slowed down considerably by the Mercedes driver on Laps 62 and 63.
That was when George Russell was able to complete his final laps in the low 1:11s at the Red Bull Ring, meaning that over those two laps Max Verstappen only gained around two tenths on his rival. Those were also the laps during which Verstappen was close to his best pace in the final stages of the race.
| Lap | Russell’s time | Verstappen’s time | Gap |
| Lap 61 | 1:11.113 | 1:10.828 | 5.327 |
| Lap 62 | 1:11.162 | 1:11.077 | 5.242 |
| Lap 63 | 1:11.068 | 1:10.936 | 5.110 |
| Lap 64 | 1:11.291 | 1:10.846 | 4.665 |
Still, Verstappen kept cutting the gap and once again showed why he is one of the best on the current grid. From Lap 62 onwards, the Dutchman completed only a single lap slower than 1:11.3 and consistently matched similar times throughout the stint, reminiscent of the ‘metronomic’ Verstappen we have come to know over recent Formula 1 seasons.
Photo: Race Pictures
Antonelli had stunning pace on fresher tyres
Tyre degradation was key at the hot Austrian Grand Prix, and the fresher hard tyres he had for his final stint after a later pit stop allowed Antonelli to push during the closing laps.
After Russell was fitted with his final set of hard tyres, from Lap 43 onwards he dipped below 1:11 only seven times. By contrast, Antonelli was able to push consistently, regularly posting 1:10s with only a few outliers.
And the Italian was able to keep up his pace. Even on tyres which were 18 laps old, by the end of the race on Lap 69, Antonelli was just a couple of hundredths slower than the fastest lap of the race, setting a 1:10.4. The current championship leader did rue his early mistakes afterwards, but his final stint was one where he nearly made up for them at the Austrian Grand Prix.