George Russell has won the Austrian Grand Prix as the British driver continues his pursuit of teammate Kimi Antonelli.
The Italian came home in third place, as Russell closes the gap on the youngster in the driver’s championship.
Max Verstappen finished in second, completing a valiant effort to get one of his best finishes of the season so far.
It was a disappointing day for the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, with the latter dropping six places from where he started on the grid.
George Russell has won the Austrian Grand Prix
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Russell held the lead in lap one, fending off Leclerc, who was overtaken in the middle-stint of the first lap by his teammate Hamilton.
Antonelli appeared to be forgetting where his brake pedal was, going into the run-off area at turns one and two, three times in the opening couple of laps.
Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac had to retire in the opening three laps after his brakes caught fire, with his team quickly rushing out with the fire extinguishers.
Liam Lawson was the next one to voice concerns about fire in the car, but the Australian was deemed okay to carry on.
Russell’s win means he closes the gap to Antonelli by 10 points
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Sergio Perez also had smoke in his car, as Cadillac were forced to retire both of their drivers after six laps.
Hamilton and Verstappen got engaged in an incredible battle on lap 11, exchanging positions for P2, reminiscent of 2021 when the pair had their thrilling championship battle.
Both previous world champions pitted, and by lap 23, the Dutchman got in front of his former arch-rival in a brilliant overtake.
Carlos Sainz stopped on track down the main straight as the virtual safety car had to be deployed, which impacted numerous drivers’ strategies, including Antonelli and Hamilton.
Russell led the way from lap one and produced one of his best drives this season
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By lap 44, Russell had pitted twice as Mercedes’ plan was going smoothly, with the British driver on course to pick up his second win of the year.
Lance Stoll retired with more than 20 laps to go, as the Canadian continues to suffer this season.
A virtual safety car was deployed temporarily on lap 53, after Alex Albon collected a small bit of debris, which was quickly cleaned up on track.
Russell saw it home to win his second grand prix of the season.
It was a disappointing day for Leclerc, who started in P2 but came home in P8
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Speaking after the race, Russell said: “Incredible to be back on the top step. It’s been a little while, so I will definitely enjoy this one this evening.
“A lot of hard work with my team to get us back on track. Obviously, it was a tricky run of form at one point.
“Max and Red Bull were incredibly quick this weekend, so kudos to them. I had to push every single lap, and I knew how quick the guys were behind.
“Kimi has been extraordinarily quick this season, so every lap I was looking at the timing board.”
Next up on the F1 calendar is the British Grand Prix next weekend from Silverstone.
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