Austria - Race

Following Saturday's surprising qualifying, the drivers lined up on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix, with George Russell at the very front. Having been consistently outperformed by his 19-year-old teammate, the Brit needed the win to prove that he was still a part of the championship fight. Did he manage to take his lead into the final lap, or did someone beat him to the finish line?

Russell kept the lead after the lights went out, soaring through the track as the two Ferraris battled for position right behind him. Lewis Hamilton ended up beating his teammate and moving into P2, while Charles Leclerc had to settle for P4, also overtaken by Max Verstappen. The Monegasque then went on to battle Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, but managed to hold onto his position. Thus, Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, and Antonelli made up the top five after the first few laps. 

For some drivers, the race was ridden with issues from the very beginning. Valtteri Bottas and Liam Lawson retired after their brakes caught on fire, and Sergio Perez had to drive to the paddock after reporting smoke in his cockpit. The others got to continue racing and focused on fighting for position. Leclerc lost position to Antonelli just as his teammate became involved in a tense wheel-to-wheel fight with Verstappen. He managed to hold position until his lap 12 pit stop. Leclerc, Verstappen, and Russell followed in his lead, leaving Antonelli and Norris as the temporary leaders. 

While Norris pitted on lap 22, Antonelli held out a few laps longer, a fact that ended up working to his advantage as on lap 24 Carlos Sainz stopped on track, bringing a yellow flag over the circuit. A virtual safety car was called in, prompting some drivers to pit once more. After it had ended Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Leclerc, and Piastri made up the top five. Hamilton lurked close behind and ended up moving ahead of his teammate. Among the chaos of VSC stops, Fernando Alonso received a 10-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. To add insult to Aston Martin's injury, his teammate, Lance Stroll, retired soon after.

With the relatively high degradation the already performed stops were not enough. Piastri and Hamilton pitted again on lap 43 and Russell changed his tires a lap later. Norris, Verstappen, and Antonelli all pitted closer to lap 50. By lap 53 the order was restored as Russell, Verstappen, and Antonelli led the race. 

Verstappen did everything he could to catch up to Russell, decreasing the gap between them with every passing lap. In the end, however, he had to admit defeat. Not for the first time this season it was the Brit who crossed the finish line first, finally decreasing the championship gap between himself and his teammate. 

Order of the grid:

1. George Russell

2. Max Verstappen

3. Kimi Antonelli

4. Oscar Piastri

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Isack Hadjar

7. Lando Norris

8. Charles Leclerc

9. Liam Lawson

10. Arvid Lindblad

11. Gabriel Bortoleto

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Pierre Gasly

14. Oliver Bearman

15. Franco Colapinto

16. Esteban Ocon

17. Alex Albon

18. Fernando Alonso

DNF: Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas