SPIELBERG, Austria, June 28 (Reuters) – A thirsty George Russell held off Max Verstappen to end his winless streak in Austria on Sunday and trim Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli’s Formula One lead to 40 points.
The top three drivers were separated by a mere two seconds after 71 laps, with Red Bull’s Verstappen finishing runner-up, 1.6 behind, at his team’s home circuit and chased to the line by Antonelli, who took the chequered flag a further 0.3 adrift.
The win was Russell’s second of the season, after he took the opener in Australia, his career seventh and Mercedes’ seventh in eight rounds so far.
“Incredible to be back on the top step. It’s been a little while, so I am definitely going to enjoy this one this evening,” said Russell, who started on pole position and can now head to his home race at Silverstone next weekend on a high.
The Briton revealed over the radio after taking the chequered flag that his drinks system had failed during the race, the first of the season to be declared a “heat hazard”. “Nice race for it to do so, I’m a little bit thirsty,” he said.
HAMILTON DROPS TO THIRD OVERALL BEHIND MERCEDES DRIVERS
Antonelli has 171 points to Russell’s 131 with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, fifth on Sunday after running second and battling Verstappen wheel-to-wheel, dropping to third on 125. In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes have 302 points to Ferrari’s 204.
Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, ahead of Hamilton, with Isack Hadjar sixth for Red Bull.
Reigning champion Lando Norris, last year’s winner in Austria, was seventh with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc eighth and Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad completing the top 10.
“I was having to push every single lap and when you push those boundaries there’s bound to be a small mistake or two,” said Russell, who made a clean getaway at the scenic Red Bull Ring while Hamilton passed Leclerc for second in the early jostling for position.
“I knew how quick the guys were behind. Kimi has been extraordinarily quick this whole season, so every lap I was looking at the timing board.”
VERSTAPPEN’S BEST RACE OF THE SEASON SO FAR
Verstappen had started fifth after crashing in qualifying but Sunday turned out to be the four-time world champion’s best race so far this season, with Red Bull’s upgraded car showing a notable improvement.
“To be second and that close to a win is extremely positive,” said the Dutch driver. “I knocked my knees in qualifying, that was not nice, but today was okay.”
Antonelli returned to the podium after a non-finish at the previous race in Barcelona but he felt he had paid the price for not being calmer on the opening laps.
“I was a bit too excited on the first few laps. Definitely didn’t drive well,” said the 19-year-old Italian, who caught up with Verstappen on the last lap.
“I did too many mistakes and on the first stint on the medium (tyre), I lost three or four seconds with the mistakes. I was struggling with the brakes. After I changed tyres, I reset and the pace at the end was very strong. It was a shame I joined the party a bit too late.”
Ferrari’s early promise, with Leclerc and Hamilton second and third on the grid after the Briton’s breakthrough first win for the team in Barcelona, faded as the afternoon wore on and they struggled for straight-line speed.
“The cars didn’t agree with any of the tyres today. It was a very, very hard race, a really tough race,” said Hamilton, who made three stops including a short stint on soft tyres while most others stuck to two.
“We are going to have to push very hard to see when we can get the next power upgrade. That won’t come for a while. Hopefully the car will be in a better place at Silverstone.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Andrew Heavens and Hugh Lawson)
