Austrian Grand Prix – Race: Russell surprise winner, Norris and Verstappen scuttle away
What an incredible outcome in Austria! In a long, superb battle, Norris and Verstappen put each other offside as they clung on. George Russell made the most of the opportunity to score the second victory of his career.
At 3pm in Spielberg, the Austrian Grand Prix is about to deliver its verdict: the cars are leaving one by one for the formation lap. The sun is shining on the Red Bull Ring. The forecasted risk of thunderstorms does not seem to be coming.
The course of the Grand Prix
Max Verstappen takes a perfect start, Lando Norris almost stayed stuck… George Russell tries to take advantage of it, but finally falls in behind the McLaren… Lewis Hamilton gains the advantage on the outside of the first turn over Carlos Sainz! While Charles Leclerc is sandwiched between Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez. He has damaged his front wing and has to come into the pits at the end of the first lap. Very bad start for the Ferraris. Max Verstappen gradually pulls away.
5 laps after the start, Oscar Piastri overtakes Sergio Perez on the outside at turn 6! What a maneuver from the Australian driver! He almost humiliates the Red Bull driver, even though the latter had pushed him into the gravel earlier. Carlos Sainz regains his position from Lewis Hamilton on the 6th lap.
Charles Leclerc is struggling… He is even being overtaken by Alexander Albon and his Williams! Certainly, the Thai also has new tires, but the Monegasque is not managing well with his hard tires… He comes back to the pits for a second time to switch to the mediums. For several Grand Prix races now, these hard tires have not been performing well. However, many drivers pit and switch to them during their first stop. The strategy adopted is the one with 2 stops.
An avalanche of penalties?
Max Verstappen comes in, just like Lando Norris… When the Red Bull driver is about to leave, he almost collides with the incoming McLaren! Lando Norris locked up his tires. The world champion’s pit exit is under investigation by the stewards.
On his side, Lewis Hamilton has just been penalized with a 5-second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit entry. Fernando Alonso follows Hamilton’s bad example and also receives a penalty: 10 seconds for pushing Zhou off the track at turn 3. In the end, Max Verstappen will not be penalized. Alexander Albon is penalized for the same reason as Lewis Hamilton.
Gasly, Ocon, and… Alonso in the fight.
The 2 Alpine drivers are in 12th and 13th position. Pierre Gasly is right behind Esteban Ocon now. It’s heating up between the French drivers! At the halfway point of the race, Gasly is tempted to dive into turn 3. He puts pressure on his teammate through radio messages.
1 lap later, Esteban Ocon passes Fernando Alonso on the inside of turn 1. The Spaniard tries to fight back with the slipstream on the way up to the hairpin… Esteban Ocon shifts during braking and it’s Pierre Gasly who takes advantage! Huddled in the exhaust of the 2 drivers, he gains the upper hand on the outside. Esteban Ocon carries a lot of speed and moves back ahead on the inside of the hairpin by forcing his way through… Pierre Gasly complains about it on the radio. Fernando Alonso has given up.
On the 41st lap of the race, a new battle unfolds: Gasly passes on the outside of turn 6 after another fierce exchange. He pits a few laps later. Esteban Ocon follows suit one lap later, but his teammate is now pulling away.
Verstappen-Norris battle for the win
In the lead, Max Verstappen is maintaining the gap with Lando Norris: 7 seconds with 20 laps remaining. Oscar Piastri dives into the hairpin of the 3rd corner on George Russell! Another very nice move from the Australian. He climbs up to the provisional podium.
The leaders stop, Max Verstappen’s pit stop is long! He has to wait and loses valuable seconds. He then has a very scary moment at turn 5! He skids into the gravel trap, Norris is less than a second and a half behind! He sets the fastest lap and closes in on Max Verstappen: incredible! The Red Bull driver seemed untouchable. The McLaren has the DRS. He tries on the outside of the hairpin but Verstappen moves and defends. The latter complains on the radio, he has no grip.
The inevitable is coming!
The McLaren goes on the inside of the turn at the top of the hill! But he locks up the wheels and finishes off the track… He lets Max Verstappen pass to avoid a penalty. Lando Norris is under the threat of a sanction and receives a third warning following the maneuver… probably synonymous with a penalty.
The battle continues! Lando Norris keeps going back there. For now, the Dutchman still holds on… but for how long? Lando Norris goes back there and the 2 drivers are fighting! The 2 drivers have punctured tires! It’s crazy. They both go back to the pits… George Russell is the new leader!
George Russell new leader!
Oscar Pisatri surpasses Carlos Sainz. He is less than 3 seconds behind George Russell, the new leader with 5 laps to go! The virtual safety car is deployed, there are debris on the track. The McLaren driver is cut off in his momentum. Max Verstappen is deemed responsible for the collision and receives a 10-second penalty. Lando Norris has lost everything and is forced to retire.
Mercedes and George Russell win the Austrian Grand Prix! What an incredible race and what battles throughout the Grand Prix! Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz complete the podium. Max Verstappen finishes 5th. Pierre Gasly scores 1 point and finishes 10th.
The result of the Austrian Grand Prix F1 2024 race
Driver | Team | Times / Retard | Laps | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:24:22.798 | 71 |
2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1,906 | 71 |
3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +4,533 | 71 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +23,142 | 71 |
5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +37,253 | 71 |
6 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | +54,088 | 71 |
7 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | +54,672 | 71 |
8 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +60,355 | 71 |
9 | Daniel Ricciardo | Racing Bulls | +61,169 | 71 |
10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +61,766 | 71 |
11 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +67,056 | 71 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +68,325 | 71 |
13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco | +1 lap | 70 |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | +1 lap | 70 |
15 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +1 lap | 70 |
16 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +1 lap | 70 |
17 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | +1 lap | 70 |
18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco | +1 lap | 70 |
19 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +2 lap | 69 |
20 | Lando Norris | McLaren | DNF | 64 |