George Russell snatched a gift-wrapped win in the Qatar Airways Austrian Grand Prix on a windy Sunday (June 30th) when a lengthy battle for the lead between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris escalated with a collision on lap 64. Russell held off Oscar Piastri over the final seven laps for his first win of the season and Mercedes’s maiden win of the year.
“Incredible,” Russell said afterward. “I think it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold onto that P3. The team have done an amazing job to get us in this fight. You’ve got to be there in the end to pick up the pieces, and that’s where we were.”
“I couldn’t believe how close we were to Max and Lando – only about 12-13 seconds behind, and I knew there was a possibility; you’re always dreaming, and it’s great for the team to be back on the top step. We’ve worked so hard and made so many strides since the start of the season.
Carlos Sainz finished third, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen, who limped back to the pits after the collision. The Haas duo of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished sixth and eight, respectively, sandwiching Sergio Perez in seventh. RB’s Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth, and Pierre Gasly of Alpine took 10th. Norris retired after making it back to the pits, classified in last place.
In the driver standings, Verstappen’s lead over Norris in second place went from a 69-point margin to 84 (237 to 156). Leclerc is in third, only six points behind Norris.
Red Bull leads Ferrari 355 to 291 in the constructor standings, with McLaren third with 268.
The Race
Verstappen easily covered Norris at lights out down to Niki Lauda Turn and zoomed away down the straight while Norris dealt with a strong start from Russell, managing the maintain second.
Hamilton got by Sainz while Piastri and Leclerc made contact, damaging Leclerc’s front wing. Leclerc dove into the pits for a new wing for his Ferrari at the end of lap 1. Leclerc emerged in 19th, and the best he could hope for now was just to finish in the points, maybe only a point at that.
Up front, Verstappen’s lead was over a second by the end of lap two. Hamilton was glued to the rear of Russell, and Hamilton slipped by early in lap three, but Russell snatched the position back almost immediately.
Sainz passed Hamilton for fourth on lap six, and Sainz’s Ferrari was the team’s only hope for a podium. It had to be a peculiarly satisfying move for Sainz, passing Hamilton in the car Hamilton will be driving next year.
By Lap 10, Verstappen’s lead was well over four seconds, and the Dutchman was locked into tire management mode with a likely two-stop strategy.
On lap 15, the order was Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Sainz, Hamilton, Piastri, Perez, Ocon, Gasly, and Tsunoda. Verstappen’s lead was approaching six seconds, and Norris found himself in a familiar position—chasing Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Leclerc was still languishing in 19th and struggling to make up any ground. He pitted again on lap 17 for medium tires and came out in last place, behind Logan Sargeant, with Verstappen closing in on lapping the Ferrari. Leclerc quickly got by Sargeant but still had lots of ground to make up.
Few drivers who had switched to hard tires were pleased with the tires’ performance. This situation became mildly encouraging to Norris, who had an extra set of mediums compared to Verstappen.
Hamilton made his first stop on lap 22 but was being investigated for crossing the white line heading into the pits. Hamilton was quickly issued a five-second time penalty.
Verstappen and Norris both pitted on lap 24 for hard tires and returned in second and third, respectively, behind Piastri, who had yet to pit. Norris questioned Verstappen’s release after his pit, which came right in front of Norris as the McLaren was sent to make the right turn into his pit box. It foreshadowed several upcoming instances when Norris questioned his friend and rival’s tactics.
Piastri pitted on lap 26, handing the lead back to Verstappen, a lead which had grown to almost seven seconds. Piastri came back out in sixth.
Verstappen radioed his team on lap 29 with a possible gear issue. He was advised to leave the car in seventh gear until Red Bull engineers could further diagnose.
By the midpoint, Leclerc was running 18th, but his team still had hopes, even without the benefit of a safety car, they could still finish in the points. Surprisingly, Leclerc made his third stop on lap 35, this time for medium tires. Leclerc returned to the track, still in 18th but over 20 seconds behind Bottas in 17th. Ferrari continued to tell Leclerc that points were still the goal, which was less a testament to the Ferrari’s performance and more a testament to the lack of it from the cars ahead of him.
Verstappen radioed his team that his tires were “really bad.” Sometimes, that’s Verstappen code for “my tires are just fine.” This time, however, it seemed like Verstappen was genuinely concerned, as his communication proved to be the latest in many complaints about his car on the day.
Gasly, after several efforts, finally got by Ocon for eight on lap 41, just a few laps after Ocon ran his teammate off the track a few laps earlier. As has almost always been the case, Gasly and Ocon are teammates in name only.
At lap 46, Verstappen’s lead was down to under seven seconds, and he had just lapped the two Haas; now, Norris would have to deal with the lapped traffic while Verstappen enjoyed clean air. Believe it or not, Verstappen was actually holding up the Haas duo. Whether or not this was by design, only Red Bull knew. Verstappen was concerned about his tires, but the team was worried that pitting now would send him back into traffic.
Verstappen and Norris again pitted together, and a very slow pit stop by the Red Bull team left Verstappen with only a three-second lead. An uncharacteristic stop by Red Bull had opened the door for Norris, and with 20 laps remaining, Norris could afford to be patient in his assault on the lead.
Norris closed the gap to under one second by lap 54 and DRS was enabled! Verstappen fought off a Norris attempt into turn three, a move Norris claimed was illegal.
Verstappen complained that “something is wrong with the car. There’s no grip.” Norris was again back within DRS range on lap 57 getting closer.
Norris was issued a track limits warning, and just seconds later, passed the Red Bull but went way off course. Norris returned the spot but had to wait to see if a track limits penalty was forthcoming.
Verstappen was pushing the limits of defensive driving, frustrating Norris, while Norris tried to make sure he didn’t push the track limits any further.
Norris made a dive down into turn three on lap 63, briefly grabbed the lead, forced Verstappen off the track, but Verstappen out-accelerated Norris to regain the spot.
On lap 64, the battle finally came to a head. Norris and Verstappen made contact as the McLaren drove wide for the pass as Verstappen defended, maybe too aggressively. Norris’s front wing then contacted Verstappen’s left rear, puncturing the tire. Moments later, Norris lost his right rear. Verstappen made it back to the pits as Russell assumed the lead. Verstappen came back out in fifth. Norris limped back to the pits but suffered too much damage and retired the car.
Russell’s lead was three seconds over Piastri with four laps to go, with Sainz just over a second behind the McLaren. Hamilton was fourth, with a five-second penalty, and Verstappen ran fifth.
Verstappen was issued a ten-second penalty for causing the collision with Norris. The Red Bull was well ahead of Hülkenberg in sixth, so the ten-second penalty amounted to no punishment for Verstappen and no consolation to Norris.
Russell crossed the line to claim his first win of the year. Piastri took second to alleviate just a little of McLaren’s disappointment, with Sainz in third. Hamilton took fourth, while Verstappen, considering the circumstances, had to be happy just completing the race, and thrilled with fifth place.
The Good
The Max Verstappen-Lando Norris rivalry just leapt to a new level. Will their friendship survive? Who cares! Formula 1 needs a good guy-bad guy scenario, and the roles are apparent in this situation. Verstappen was born to play the bad guy. Bad guys never take responsibility for their actions and have a team principal who supports them 100% in that respect. When interviewed after the race and told that most F1 experts agreed with the stewards’ assessment that Verstappen was at fault, the Red Bull wheelman gave the old “Well, everyone has their own opinion” statement, practically an admission of guilt.
This level-up in the budding rivalry comes at a perfect time, with the British Grand Prix looming next Sunday (July 7th). English fans will certainly be in a frenzy at Norris’ home race, with their invective towards Verstappen sure to be heightened by their team’s shocking but predictable loss to Switzerland the day before in the European Championships (July 6).
Now, let’s lighten the mood with some Valtteri Bottas talk. While Bottas does not yet have an F1 ride for 2025, don’t discount a move to NASCAR. Bottas has been prepping for a ride in NASCAR for a while now. He’s cultivated a nice Dale Earnhardt, Sr. mustache in an homage to NASCAR’s past, and sports a cheesy mullet in a nod to NASCAR’s present. Reminder, this column is not for predictions.
The Very Good
No Danica Patrick. And, Alpine was right there challenging for the pole in qualifying on Saturday (June 29th), for almost a minute and a half of Q1.
The Bad
Verstappen’s driving late in the race was questionable at best and dirty at worst. In the lap 64 incident, Verstappen and Norris made initial contact, and you could assign equal blame to both. Then, after that contact, Norris looked to the outside to take the position. This is where Verstappen clearly veered into Norris’ path, causing the second contact, which punctured Verstappen’s and then Norris’s tire. Verstappen can say “racing line,” “dive-bombing,” “racing incident,” and other catchphrases that imply his innocence all he wants, but he made that move with the sole intention of blocking Norris. Verstappen’s excuses were nearly as bad as his driving.
There are two versions of “vintage” Verstappen. There’s the vintage Verstappen, who’s won three consecutive world championships. Before that, vintage Verstappen was the talented yet unpredictable teen-to-twenty-something who, at times, drove like a maniac but also failed to comprehend why he was characterized in that way.
Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner are beefing again, and it’s so unnecessary and barely newsworthy. The story is that Horner blocked the elder Verstappen from participating in the Legends Parade ahead of Sunday’s race. First of all, why is Verstappen in the Legends Race? It’s not the Father Of Legends Race! Can we put these two ego-tripping clowns in a cage, maybe throw in a grizzly bear, and settle this nonsense once and for all?
Jos Verstappen is no legend. He has zero F1 wins to his name. In a mathematical equation, it can be stated as follows: Jos Verstappen F1 wins=(Max Verstappen F1 wins) minus (Max Verstappen F1 wins).
And why does Horner get so bent out of shape over Max’s father? Is it because he wants to be Max’s father?
Why is the situation newsworthy? As much as he says it’s not, situations like these are a distraction for Max Verstappen. I have a feeling that Max has equal amounts of respect for both Horner and his father, and that amount is none.
Grid Walk Moment
Martin Brundle switched things up and gave us a “Pit Lane Walk” before the typical “Grid Walk.” In the “Pit Lane Walk,” Brundle chatted with Mercedes Sporting Director Ron Meadows, and while informative, I can only gather one thing from the “Pit Lane Walk” – it will never happen again.
While Brundle was fiddling around on pit lane, filmmaker George Lucas was hovering around the grid, waiting for anyone, anyone, to talk to him about some gigantic movie franchises that he may have had a tiny bit of responsibility for.
Brundle did, when he began his abbreviated “Grid Walk,” happen upon a conversation between Flavio Briatore and Jos Verstappen. Brundle wisely chose not to inject his microphone into the conversation because what he could have heard may have subjected him to an upcoming subpoena.
Brundle did speak to the two individually. Briatore seems genuinely happy to be back in F1. And since his role as special advisor at Alpine began, the team has performed surprisingly well. It’s like Briatore has unlocked a hidden command or power used to gain an advantage for the team, such as by advancing levels or enhancing a driver’s strengths. I think in video game parlance, that’s called a “cheat code.”
Verstappen did say something interesting when asked about Max’s preparation and outlook for the race. Verstappen, Sr. gave his thoughts on the situation before finally adding, and I quote, “I don’t get involved.” I could only hope Brundle would have had a mouthful of some beverage so we could have all bore witness to the greatest “spit take” in F1 history. That’s the problem: Verstappen does get involved, pretty much to the detriment of everyone, especially his son.
The Disappointing
It’s disappointing that the late Verstappen-Norris battle didn’t continue without contact until the checkered flag. While it wasn’t exactly a full display of clean racing, it would have been interesting to see it play out until the end without a crash.
It’s also disappointing that Verstappen’s ten-second punishment for the collision with Norris came nowhere close to fitting the crime. Basically, Verstappen went unpunished. The ten seconds didn’t cost him even a place in the order.
Did Verstappen have to defend Norris so aggressively? Not at all. This isn’t a close race for the world championship. In a tighter world championship battle, it makes more sense for Verstappen to play the role of Michael Schumacher, while Norris can be Damon Hill or Jacques Villeneuve. In Austria, Verstappen drove like a desperate driver when he should have just let Norris by and accepted losing seven points to Norris. That is by no means disastrous to Verstappen’s championship hopes. As things played out, it was disastrous for Verstappen’s reputation.
The Driver
Despite not even finishing the race, Norris easily takes this distinction. Norris was patient early, despite Verstappen racing to an early lead that at the time seemed insurmountable. Norris knew he had a tire advantage on Verstappen but didn’t waste it early.
And when Norris attacked Verstappen later in the race, he did so with conviction and fairly. Norris’ constant appearance in Verstappen’s mirror continually annoyed the Red Bull driver. You know Verstappen is agitated when he’s constantly on the radio. Norris forced Verstappen into something you don’t often see: a mistake.
It was clear during the race, and more so after the race, Norris was the better man.
The Results (Qatar Airways Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring)
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 71 | 1:24:22.798 | 25 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 71 | +1.906s | 18 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 71 | +4.533s | 15 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 71 | +23.142s | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 71 | +37.253s | 10 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 71 | +54.088s | 8 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 71 | +54.672s | 6 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 71 | +60.355s | 4 |
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 71 | +61.169s | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 71 | +61.766s | 1 |
| 11 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 71 | +67.056s | 0 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 71 | +68.325s | 0 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 69 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 20 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 64 | +7 laps | 0 |
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