George Russell put himself back into the title fight, retaking second in the points standings with a convincing victory in the F1 Austrian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver started on pole and controlled the race from the front for most of the afternoon to score a 1.611-second win over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to take his second victory of 2026.
“It’s incredible to be back on the top step, it’s been a little while so I’m definitely going to enjoy this one,” said Russell. “Definitely a lot of hard work with my team to get us back on track. Max and Red Bull were incredibly quick this weekend. Every lap I was looking on the timing board and we pitted on the early side and I knew it was going to be a long stint, but the team timed it to perfection.”
The win comes after Russell watched his teammate Kimi Antonelli reel off five consecutive victories earlier this season and look to be taking control of the 2026 drivers’ championship.
A strong race last time out in Spain, where he finished second, and now a first-place in Austria are helping Russell regain his confidence.
“The tough races definitely test you psychologically and these last few weekends for me have been vitally important to remind myself that I can do it,” he said. “The race pace was very strong this weekend and on a track that is probably not well-suited to my style. I’m looking forward to Silverstone next weekend.”
The win gives Russell 131 points, 40 behind Antonelli, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton third on 125. In the Constructors standings, Mercedes leads with 302 points followed by Ferrari at 204 and McLaren with 159.
Russell started on pole after a bit of a controversial qualifying that saw Verstappen crash in the final seconds and the Mercedes driver still improve his time despite a yellow flag in the penultimate corner. The stewards ruled that he slowed enough to keep the starting position.
Despite the accident that put him fifth on the grid, a resurgent Verstappen took full advantage of his newly upgraded Red Bull to get himself into the mix, looking strong throughout the race but falling just short of challenging for the win.
“It was a very good race for us. The first few laps were quite fun and then it was just managing the tires but the car was in quite a good window for, I’d say, half of the race,” said the four-time world champion. “We picked up a few issues with the car, which prevented me from finding a nice rhythm, but to be second and close to a win is extremely positive for us, so for sure I’m very happy.”
Verstappen survived a last-lap challenge from Antonelli, who got right with the Red Bull on the final few laps but couldn’t find a way past. The Italian crossed the line 0.375 seconds behind the Dutch driver.
Antonelli started fourth but struggled in the early going, going off track a couple of times under braking and dropping to fifth. While it looked like he would have a long day, Antonelli recovered to get back onto the podium.
“I made too many mistakes; in the first stint, on the medium (tire), I think I lost four seconds with mistakes as I was struggling with the brakes, but then, after I changed tires, I reset and the pace was very strong again,” he said. “But it seems that I joined the party too late.”
The Austrian Grand Prix served as another disappointment for Canadian Lance Stroll, who retired on Lap 48. His teammate Fernando Alonso ended the day last on track, in 18th, three laps down and 53 seconds behind the 17th-place car.
After eight races, the Aston Martin team scored only one point courtesy of a 10th-place by Alonso in Monaco.