RUSSELL WINS IN AUSTRIA IN MUCH NEEDED RACE VICTORY

Round eight saw Formula One came to the home of Red Bull, Spielberg, Austria and to the Red Bull Ring but it was title favourites Mercedes who ultimately dominated the pace this weekend despite the push from Verstappen in the Red Bull over the course of the race. It was George Russell who came out on top taking victory for the first time since the opening race in Australia, Verstappen looked at one point like he was going to win the race but has to settle for second despite the fight he put up. It was Championship leader Kimi Antonelli who claims the third and final spot on the podium.

Pole sitter George Russell got off the line well and holds the lead into turn one. By the end of the first lap Lewis Hamilton is second with Charles Leclerc third and Kimi Antonelli fourth.

It didn't take long for a Cadillac to have an issue and this time it was Valtteri Bottas, who after three laps, is forced to retire with his brakes on fire.

The weekend didn't get any better just two laps later on lap five when the second Cadillac of Sergio Perez is retired from the race. Five laps in and its already race over for Cadillac.

After losing the second Cadillac Hamilton and Verstappen show why they are the greats of this sport with some fantastic battling across the shortest lap in Formula One going wheel to wheel for what was at that point a fight for second place.

The third retirement came on lap twenty five when the Williams of Carlos Sainz stopped on the start finish straight, forcing the VSC to be deployed, but with the car next to an escape road in the pit lane the car is easily wheeled back to the Williams pit garage, giving us the green flag on the very next lap.

After the initial pit stops had been and gone on lap twenty seven its Russell who leads from Verstappen in second and Leclerc in third. Antonelli fourth and Oscar Piastri in the McLaren completes the top five.

The final retirement came on lap forty seven when the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll is boxed to retire the car with an ERS (Energy Recovery System) failure.

It was a close finish between the top three with them all finishing within two seconds of each other after crossing the finish line.

But Russell has come out on top putting himself back into second in the championship standings and gets ever closer to his teammate and title contender Kimi Antonelli.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. All images are owned by Formula One.