SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) 鈥� George Russell showed he can stand the heat in more ways than one as he won the Austrian Grand Prix to revive his title chances.
Racing in a heatwave with a broken drinks system, Russell held off Max Verstappen and his own teammate Kimi Antonelli to turn his into a dominant win.
It’s the first win for Russell, excluding sprint races, since the season-opening . Russell said it was 鈥渋ncredible” to win again after struggling to compete with Antonelli when his teammate racked up five straight victories earlier in the season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a tough couple of months with some really tricky races, with races that felt like everything was going against me, then some races with some tough performances,鈥� he said.
Verstappen took the fight to Mercedes with his upgraded Red Bull car at the team’s home race, but couldn’t get close enough for a shot at Russell and finished on the defensive against Antonelli. The top three were separated by just two seconds at the finish.
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari failed to build on his at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix last time out, fading badly in the race despite qualifying well, with the seven-time champion fifth and teammate Charles Leclerc eighth.
Russell takes back second in the standings from Hamilton with his seventh career win and cuts Antonelli鈥檚 lead to 40 points.
鈥淚 have a lot of confidence in myself, knowing I can do it. I have less confidence in being able to get everything aligned with the car, the set-up and the tires, because it鈥檚 just been so up and down for me,鈥� Russell said.
Antonelli was left to rue mistakes he said cost him valuable seconds early in the race.
鈥淚t was a shame that I joined the party a bit too late,鈥� the 19-year-old driver said.
Russell’s smart win
Russell took pole Saturday with a lap time set as a yellow flag was displayed for a crash by Verstappen. Russell argued he鈥檇 lifted off enough to be safe and the stewards agreed.
Sunday鈥檚 win showed off Russell鈥檚 smart approach to racing in a different way as he managed his pace and stayed out of trouble, even as those behind him lost time battling each other for position.
Leclerc had started second, with Hamilton third, but they gradually dropped back through the field on a track where they lacked power compared to Mercedes and also had difficulties with tire wear.
Hamilton didn鈥檛 give up without a fight, bringing back memories of his fierce battles with Verstappen in 2021. Hamilton and the Dutch driver fought side by side in the early part of the race and Verstappen complained Hamilton had forced him wide into a gravel trap.
Fourth place for Oscar Piastri was a positive sign for McLaren, with defending champion Lando Norris seventh, but it came with a warning from team principal Andrea Stella.
It was an example of 鈥渆xcellent strategy鈥� but 鈥渨e are not in a position to fight for victories and podiums on pure pace at the moment,鈥� Stella said.
Cadillac feels the heat
The sweeping Europe made this the first race of the year to be run under F1鈥檚 鈥渉eat hazard鈥� rules, with drivers required to use cooling vests or carry an equivalent weight in ballast. They lined up for the pre-race Austrian anthem in cooling gear and carrying umbrellas.
Overheating brakes were a hot topic, with Antonelli among those struggling to stop the car. Both Cadillac drivers retired early, with the team鈥檚 crew rushing to put out a small fire on Valtteri Bottas鈥� car before Sergio Perez reported smoke.
F1’s newest team is launching an investigation into the issues.
鈥淲e have made progress in terms of pace and the gap from the rear of the field is growing, but we need to ensure we have the reliability to demonstrate it,鈥� team principal Graeme Lowdon said.
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