SPIELBERG (Austria) — A relieved George Russell admitted he had endured a “tricky run of form” this year after recovering his momentum to win Austrian Grand Prix and trim Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead.
The 28-year-old Briton, who claimed a well-judged if narrow victory ahead of Red Bull’s resurgent four-time champion Max Verstappen and the Italian teenager, said it felt “incredible” to be back on top of the podium after “a lot of hard work with my team”.
“It’s a beautiful feeling and it has been a while,” said Russell. “So I am going to enjoy this one this evening. It’s taken a lot of hard work with my team to get us back on track – there was a tricky run of form at one point.
“Thanks to everyone! Thanks to the fans, too. It is pretty ‘toasty’ out there today so I’m looking forward to a drink now.”
Russell said the drinks apparatus in his car had failed during the race, which was declared as a ‘heat hazard’ event, permitting drivers to wear special cooling vests under their fireproof race suits.
In temperatures of 37 Celsius (air) and 62C (track) at the Red Bull Ring in the Styrian Alps, it was a physically-challenging test for drivers, teams and spectators in the uncovered grandstands.
“I had to push every single lap and when you push those boundaries, there is bound to be a small mistake or two — and I knew how quick the guys behind me were,” said Russell.
“Kimi has been extraordinarily quick this season so every lap I was looking at the timing board. Max and Red Bull were incredibly quick this weekend so kudos to them.
“We pitted on the early side so I knew it would be a long stint, but the team timed it to perfection,” he added according to AFP.
Russell came home 1.611 seconds ahead of a charging Verstappen who in turn resisted championship leader Antonelli, in the second Mercedes, to finish 0.375 seconds in front as they crossed the line.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fourth, 20 seconds adrift, ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari, Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull and world champion Lando Norris in the second McLaren.
Charles Leclerc was eighth in the second Ferrari ahead of the two Red Bulls of Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad.
Russell’s win trimmed Antonelli’s advantage in the title race by 10 points to 40, the Italian teenager having reeled off five straight wins to establish a clear lead earlier in the season.
“I was a bit too excited on the first few laps,” said Antonelli. “I definitely didn’t drive well! I did too many mistakes and on the first stint on the medium, I lost three or four seconds with the mistakes and I was struggling with the brakes.
“After I changed tyres, I reset and the pace at the end was very strong. It’s a shame I joined the party a bit too late! Two or three more laps would have been more fun.”
Verstappen, who started fifth, relished the new-found speed in his upgraded Red Bull car.
“I think it was a very good race for us,” he said. “The first few laps were quite fun and then it was basically just trying to manage the tyres.
“Honestly, I think the car was in quite a good window for half of the race and then we picked up a few issues which prevented me from finding a nice rhythm. To be second, that close to a win, is extremely positive for us. I’m very happy.”
