Russell claims second victory of 2026 in Austria from Verstappen and Antonelli

George Russell took a lights-to-flag victory in Austria | Credit: Formula One

George Russell took his second victory of the season from Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli, the top three separated by a tantalising 1.9 seconds as the chequered flag fell at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix.

Ferrari endured a dismal Sunday in Spielberg as Lewis Hamilton managed fifth and Charles Leclerc tumbled down to eighth after starting on the front row, both drivers struggling with tyre degradation and going for a three-stop race that was far less optimal than the strategies of Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren.

Here’s how a race packed with overtakes panned out.

Race Report

As the drivers set off on their formation lap, it was revealed that the entire grid was on the medium compound, barring Gabriel Bortoleto and Carlos Sainz, both opting for the soft tyres for their opening stints.

The five lights went out, and it was Russell in the lead, holding Charles Leclerc at bay while the Monegasque driver was left to the mercy of his teammate, who slipped past Leclerc to take second place.

The majority of the grid opted for medium tyres for their first stint | Credit: Formula One

Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli was sliding all over the place, going off at multiple places since the start. From fifth on the grid, Max Verstappen was making moves on the opening lap, cruising past Leclerc for third who was struggling to find answers against his competitors.

By Lap 5, Russell remained in the lead from Hamilton, followed by Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad — the McLaren pair engaged in a quick tussle that saw Piastri come out on top.

At the lower end of the field, it was a disastrous day for Cadillac as both drivers retired one after the other with overheated brakes.

The heat got to Lawson too, who came over the radio to say that his car was on fire, but the Kiwi driver continued his race with no indications of pitting for the moment.

Meanwhile, Leclerc’s race unravelled further as Antonelli caught him at Turn 9, the Ferrari driver slipping down to fifth after starting second.

Hamilton up ahead was now under pressure from Verstappen as Russell built a three-second lead. The Dutchman made a smooth overtake on Hamilton at Turn 3, but his former rival got him back through the following corners, the two drivers swapping the position and Verstappen then locking up. The two champions went wheel-to-wheel yet again through Turn 6, Verstappen dipping his wheels into the gravel momentarily.

The former rivals racing hard in Spielberg | Credit: Formula One

The first front runner to pit was Hamilton from second after his battle with Verstappen to bolt on the hard tyres, while Leclerc followed him into the pits the next lap. Up front, Russell had a five-second buffer to Verstappen which was quickly being eaten into by the Red Bull driver.

Meanwhile on Lap 17, Russell believed the one-stop was possible, as none of the front runners responded to Ferrari’s stops.

On Lap 19, Red Bull blinked, pitting both of their drivers as they triggered this round of stops. Russell was the next of the top 10 to pit, followed by Piastri.

The sister McLaren of Norris was given the message to stay out meanwhile, the Briton then responding that he didn’t have much pace. The team heeded Norris’ concerns, as they boxed the following lap, leaving Antonelli the only one of the top four teams yet to pit.

Back on track, the battle between Hamitlon and Verstappen resumed as the Dutchman once again lunged past Hamilton into Turn 3 first, then Turn 6 for third place as the two traded blows once again.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were engaged in thrilling wheel-to-wheel battles throughout the race | Credit: Formula One

 On Lap 25, Carlos Sainz stopped on track, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car (VSC), just as Antonelli pitted under the green flag instead of capitalising on the VSC. Hamilton took his second stop under the VSC to take on the soft tyres, as we returned to green flag conditions on Lap 28.

The order following the VSC period was led by Russell, followed by Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton, Norris, Lindblad and Lawson.

Down at Turn 4, Antonelli plucked off Leclerc for third, as another overtake on Lap 31 was completed by Hamilton on Hadjar for sixth place through Turn 3.

Russell continued to maintain the lead but Verstappen was hot on his heels, the gap now standing at 3.6 seconds between them, which was sliced down to 2.3 seconds on Lap 36 of 71. 

Carlos Sainz retired after suspected electrical issues | Credit: Formula One

Further down, Hamilton was struggling with overheating, not able to unleash his full race pace as he was ordered to manage temperatures. 

On Lap 37, Leclerc was overtaken by both Piastri and Hamilton, Leclerc then peeling into the pits for fresher hard tyres.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was handed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, the Spaniard running in 19th. 

At the sharp end of the field, Verstappen was closing in on Russell, the gap between the two competitors for the win now at 1.3 seconds. At the same time, Hamilton took his third stop followed by Piastri taking his second.

This round of stops saw Russell take the fresher rubber first on Lap 44 as Verstappen elected to stay out, the Briton rejoining the track in third behind Antonelli and Verstappen in the lead — the Dutchman having a fresh set of mediums in his arsenal for later on. 

On Lap 47, the fourth retirement of the day became Lance Stroll who was ordered to return to the pits. Norris boxed that lap, as his teammate Piastri overtook Leclerc once more for fourth.

Verstappen finally boxed on Lap 50 after claiming his tyres were understandably dead, and rejoined the track in third on hard tyres, choosing to skip the mediums they’d saved.

Antonelli took his stop the following lap, as the top three was reinstated to Russell, followed by Verstappen and Antonelli.

Kimi Antonelli chased Verstappen for second | Credit: Formula One

A quick VSC was deployed on Lap 53 to clear a bollard that Alex Albon bumped and knocked onto the track. As we immediately returned to normal racing conditions, the top three were followed by Piastri, Hamilton who had cleared Leclerc in sixth, Hadjar, Norris, Lawson and Lindblad.

Following the latest cycle of pitstop and the VSC, the gap between Russell and Verstappen had now inflated to 8.5 seconds — but the Dutchman’s hunt continued. 

Leclerc’s disappointing race day continued as he slipped down to eighth after failing to keep Hadjar and Norris behind on worn out tyres. Ferrari finally put him out of his misery on Lap 60 as he boxed for a set of softs to take him through the final stint.

With 10 laps to go, Russell held a buffer of five seconds to Verstappen as the race leaders continued to clear traffic. As the laps ticked down, so did the gap between the top two — down to 3.5 by Lap 68. 

Right behind Verstappen, Antonelli had begun to close in on the Red Bull too, 1.5 seconds behind with four laps to go. On the penultimate lap, Antonelli came within a second of Verstappen, the pressure now piling on the Dutchman while Russell could breathe easy ahead.

Russell took his second win of the season | Credit: Formula One

The Briton took his second victory of the season from pole as Verstappen and Antonelli maintained the order as the final lap closed out, followed by Piastri, Hamilton, Hadjar, Norris, Leclerc, Lawson and Lindblad to round out the points-scorers.

Find full race results here.

Championship Standings

Russell's victory sees him reclaim second place in the standings from Hamilton, the Mercedes driver now 40 behind Antonelli with 171 points in the lead. Hamilton is not too far behind however, just six points adrift of his former teammate and no doubt still gunning for a shot at chasing his eighth title.

Russell returns to second in the standings following his Austrian victory | Credit: Formula One

A miserable run of races for Leclerc means that he's slipped to sixth in the standings, as both Piastri and Norris move ahead to occupy fourth and fifth — Leclerc tied with Norris on 79 points and one point behind the Australian driver.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's podium sees him closing in on Leclerc and the Papaya pair, seven points of difference between him and Leclerc.

The Constructors' standings see Mercedes continue to build their advantage, with the order behind them led by Ferrari followed by McLaren and Red Bull — all teams still separated by considerable gaps.

Up Next

We head to Great Britain next from 3rd to 5th July, the home race for many drivers and teams on the grid. Russell will hope to bring his momentum from Spielberg into Silverstone, as he will attempt to win his home Grand Prix for the first time.