George Russell Wins Austrian Grand Prix as Antonelli Plays Safe: Championship Gap Narrows to 40 Points

[Jason99]

George Russell delivered a composed and controlled victory at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, holding off a charging Max Verstappen to claim his second win of the 2026 season and claw back ground on championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Starting from pole position, Russell led from lights out and resisted everything Verstappen could throw at him in the closing laps. Antonelli, who had a scrappy start with the Mercedes going wide at multiple corners, eventually settled for third and limited the damage with a professional drive to protect his title lead. The final gap was 1.611 seconds from Russell to Verstappen, with Antonelli just 0.375 seconds further back in one of the tightest top-three finishes of the season.

The championship picture after Round 8 has shifted meaningfully. Antonelli sits on 171 points with a 40-point lead over Russell, who moves back up to second ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third. Hamilton had a frustrating afternoon; a three-stop strategy that Ferrari had hoped might work on the degrading Spielberg asphalt left him fifth, behind Piastri in fourth. Leclerc fared worse, finishing eighth after starting on the front row. The twin Ferrari disappointments, combined with Mercedes accumulating 40 of a possible 43 points from the weekend across both cars, mean Mercedes now lead the constructors championship by 98 points over Ferrari.

The race had its drama. Both Cadillac drivers, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, retired early with brake issues. Carlos Sainz's Williams suffered an electrical failure that triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Red Bull's decision to leave Verstappen out five extra laps during the second pit window rather than stopping immediately proved the critical error that cost them the race win. Russell, on fresh hard tyres, had built enough buffer that Verstappen emerged 10 seconds behind with no realistic chance of catching him. Next up is Silverstone, the British Grand Prix on July 3-5, back-to-back with Austria.

Russell seals thrilling Austria victory from Verstappenwww.formula1.com