George Russell Wins Austrian Grand Prix
The British driver George Russell (Mercedes) claimed the second victory of his career, and the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) climbed to the last step of the podium by taking advantage of a collision between the British driver Lando Norris (McLaren) and the Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) while they were battling for the lead. This incident forced Norris to retire and Verstappen to finish fifth.
Sainz benefited from the situation, and although he couldn't hold off the Australian driver Oscar Piastri (McLaren) for second place, he finished third in a race that became turbulent in the last twenty laps. Meanwhile, the Mexican driver 'Checo' Pérez (Red Bull) finished seventh, and the Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) ended up in eighteenth place, far from the top positions.
Verstappen, the championship leader, had dominated the first fifty laps, but a series of mistakes caused him to collide while defending the lead against Norris, the major contender in the championship, with seven laps remaining.
Unstoppable during the first half of the race, he roamed freely around the Austrian circuit of the Red Bull Ring. However, starting from lap 50, the mistakes piled up for the Dutchman's car, from a poor pit stop to a tire lock-up that allowed Norris to get closer.
A braking error at turn two while Norris was relentlessly attacking caused the Red Bull to puncture its rear tire, but most importantly, it ruined Norris's efforts as he had to retire due to the damage from a collision caused by Verstappen, which ended with a ten-second penalty.