George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix, the eighth round of the 2026 F1 season, and moved into second place behind Kimi Antonelli in the drivers' standings. The Mercedes number 63 held the lead from pole throughout the 71 laps at the Red Bull Ring and finished with a 1.611‑second margin. Max Verstappen, who started fifth, finished second, just 0.375 seconds ahead of Antonelli, who retains the championship lead with 171 points to Russell's 131.

Photo By Mercedes F1

Russell defended the lead at the start and held off Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the early corners. Antonelli went off track twice, which opened the door for Verstappen, who had qualified fifth after a crash in Q3. The Red Bull passed Antonelli, Leclerc and Hamilton in a series of exchanges at Turns 3, 5 and 6 during the first third of the race, and settled into second place after the first round of pit stops.

The race had pace from the early laps, with Verstappen climbing and the Mercedes controlling from the front. Carlos Sainz stopped his Williams with an electrical problem on the main straight, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Hamilton took the opportunity to make an extra stop, but Verstappen and Russell stayed out. Red Bull delayed Verstappen's second stop by five laps, a move that cost him the chance to fight for the win. Russell pitted on lap 44 for fresher tyres and stretched the gap before Verstappen came in, and although the Dutchman closed in during the final stint, he did not have enough time to catch the Mercedes.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen held second place by 0.375 seconds over Antonelli and confirmed that the aerodynamic and weight upgrades Red Bull introduced in Austria had returned the team to the fight. Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, ahead of Hamilton on a weekend where Ferrari was far from the leading pace. Leclerc finished eighth, overtaken by the McLarens and by Isack Hadjar in the closing stages.

The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad scored the final points with ninth and tenth places. Audi just missed out with Gabriel Bortoleto eleventh and Nico Hülkenberg twelfth. Four cars retired. Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas retired in the early laps with brake overheating in the Cadillacs, Sainz retired with an electrical failure, and Lance Stroll parked his Aston Martin with an ERS issue.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

Russell scored his second win of the year, the first since Australia, and cut Antonelli's lead to 40 points. Verstappen returned to the podium and Red Bull proved that the upgrade package works. Ferrari, on the other hand, left Austria with more questions. The power unit evolution was not enough to keep pace with Mercedes or Red Bull, and Hamilton's fifth place was the Scuderia's best result on a weekend that had started with Leclerc second on the grid.

Austrian Grand Prix

Pos.	No.	driver	team	time
1	#63	George Russell	Mercedes	-
2	#3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.611s
3	#12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.986s
4	#81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+21.809s
5	#44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+26.393s
6	#6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+29.399s
7	#1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+31.505s
8	#16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+45.659s
9	#30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1 LAP
10	#41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1 LAP
11	#5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1 LAP
12	#27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1 LAP
13	#10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1 LAP
14	#87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1 LAP
15	#43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1 LAP
16	#31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+2 LAPS
17	#23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2 LAPS
18	#14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+3 LAPS
DNF	#18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	-
DNF	#55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	-
DNF	#11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	-
DNF	#77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	-