Russell holds off Verstappen to win Austrian GP

George Russell claims first grand prix victory since opening race of season; Max Verstappen holds off championship leader Kimi Antonelli for second; Russell reduces his Mercedes team-mate's title battle lead to 40 points

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>George Russell held off Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix to reinvigorate his championship challenge with a first victory since the opening round of the season.

>Mercedes' Russell produced a composed display to convert pole position to victory in Spielberg, holding off pressure from Verstappen over the second half of the race to take the chequered flag 1.6 seconds clear of the Red Bull.

>Verstappen went from hunter to hunted over the final laps at the Red Bull Ring as Russell's Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, the world championship leader, almost snatched second, closing to within four tenths at the conclusion of the last of the 71 laps.

>Russell's victory reduces his championship deficit to Antonelli to 40 points and moves the Brit back up to second in the standings ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who falls 51 points off the lead after finishing fifth behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

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>Russell's win, at the eighth of the season's 22 scheduled rounds, was his first in a grand prix since the season opener in Australia, after which he appeared to be an overwhelming title favourite.

>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."

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>Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar claimed sixth to cap an improved weekend for Red Bull after the team brought a major upgrade package to its home race.

>Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren, finishing ahead of Ferrari's Leclerc, who struggled to make his tyres last in the testing hot conditions as he dropped back from second on the grid.

>Liam Lawson finished in ninth, a place ahead of his Racing Bulls team-mate Arvid Lindblad, as the pair took the final positions in the points.

>Next up in the 2026 Formula 1 season is the big one, a Sprint weekend at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix - live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky One with coverage from Thursday to Sunday's race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime