George Russell held on to control of Sunday’s (June 28) Austrian Grand Prix to score his second win of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Red Bull Ring. Max Verstappen crossed the line 1.6 seconds behind the Mercedes for his best result of the season, while World Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took the final spot on the podium.
“Incredible to be back on the top step,” Russell said after the race. “It’s been a little while, so I’m definitely going to enjoy this one this evening. A lot of hard work with my team to get us back on track. Obviously, there was a tricky run of form at one point. Max and Red Bull were incredibly quick this weekend, so kudos to them.
“I was having to push every single lap, and when you push those boundaries, there’s bound to be a small mistake or two. I knew just how quick the guys were behind. Obviously, Kimi’s been extraordinarily quick this season, so every lap I was looking at the timing board. We pitted on the early side. I knew it was going to be a long stint, but the team timed it to perfection.”
Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the points-paying positions.
The race was primarily one of tire strategy, which led Verstappen and Antonelli to within a second of Russell by race’s end, with pace to catch the leader had there been a few more laps to play.
Russell made his final pit stop for hard tires on lap 45 of 71, looking to undercut Verstappen, who pitted on lap 48. Verstappen emerged with an 11-second gap to Russell but was far more comfortable on the hards while Russell had preferred medium tires throughout the weekend.
The race was nearly neutralized and the battle nearly reset when a virtual safety car was deployed to recover an errant bollard from the track, though this came moments after the leaders completed their final pit stops, negating its impact on the running order.
Behind the top three, Hamilton looked briefly set to challenge for the win, showing strong pace in the opening laps and hounding Russell for the first moments of the race. However, his pace eventually fell off and he spent the bulk of the day in the middle of the points positions.
Hamilton’s teammate, Leclerc, had a difficult day after starting on the front row and struggled to hang with the leaders throughout the race, finding contact with Piastri at one point and being asked to move aside and cede position to Hamilton later in the day.
The Cadillac duo of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez had a nightmarish day, the former reporting a brake fire and the latter’s cockpit filling with smoke. Both drivers had retired by lap 5.
Carlos Sainz retired on lap 25 with a loss of power, relegating him to a 20th-place finish. Lance Stroll joined him in retirement with a suspected issue with his Aston Martin’s Energy Recovery System.
2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix Results
Next up for F1 is the British Grand Prix at the iconic Silverstone Circuit. Coverage in the U.S. will begin Sunday, July 5, at 10 a.m. ET on Apple TV.
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.
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