2024 F1 Austrian GP results: Russell wins as Verstappen, Norris clash

Russell beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Verstappen’s first issue was a near-miss with Norris as he exited his pitbox in the first cycle of stops, but stewards decided it wasn’t worthy of a penalty.

A slow second stop for Verstappen put Norris right on his tail with 15 laps to go.

Norris lunged ahead at Turn 3 on lap 59 but had to give the position back as he ran wide. But their lead battle exploded there a few laps later, the pair colliding at Turn 3 and both receiving punctures.

That opened the door for Russell to inherit the second F1 victory of his career.

Formula 1F1 Austrian GP: Russell inherits victory as Verstappen and Norris collide

Polesitter Verstappen led the charge to Turn 1, leading Norris and Russell. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) battled hard with Sainz over the opening corners, while Piastri’s McLaren was forced wide at Turn 4 by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on the first lap and dropped back to seventh.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was forced to pit after contract with Piastri at the first corner and he required a new front wing.

As Verstappen rapidly pulled out of the DRS range of Norris, Hamilton passed Russell for third at Turn 3 on lap three, but Russell repassed him at the following corner.

Sainz passed Hamilton for fourth at Turn 3 on lap seven, after Lewis was told to let him through by the team, while Piastri impressively drove around the outside of Perez at Turn 6 a lap later.

Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to pit on lap 22, but crossed the white line at the pitlane entry, followed in by Perez. Hamilton received a 5s penalty for his transgression, while Perez was also given an extra 5s for speeding in the pitlane.

Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin punted Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) off at Turn 3 on lap 20 and received a 10s penalty.

Verstappen led by 5.7s as the two leaders opted to stop on the same lap, with Norris having to brake to avoid Verstappen as he left his box, which promoted Piastri to the lead. Piastri pitted a couple of laps later, rejoining sixth.

Verstappen was investigated for an unsafe release, and sprinted to a 7s lead, but was cleared by the stewards. Russell ran third, opting for more mediums on this stint, as everyone else switched to hards.

Russell kicked off the second pitstop cycle on lap 47, switching on to hards. Piastri passed Hamilton for a net fifth a lap later.

Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 51 with a 7.4s lead, but lost time as the left-rear tyre wouldn’t come off at the first attempt, and Red Bull then had to hold him to allow Norris past in the lane. That put Norris – who had fresh mediums compared to Verstappen’s used rubber – within 3s.

Verstappen locked up and almost went off at Turn 4 on his out lap, which helped put Norris into his DRS range on lap 54. He got close at Turn 3 on the following tour, forcing Verstappen – who complained of “no grip” – to defend in the braking zone.

Norris lunged ahead at Turn 3 on lap 59 but had to give the position back as he ran wide into the run-off, the stewards noting that he exceeded track limits.

Four laps later, Norris lunged him again at Turn 3, but Verstappen went off the track at the exit.

On the following lap they collided at Turn 3, both of them sustaining punctures and crawling back to the pits. Norris was forced out with damage from the clash.

That gifted Russell the lead, as the virtual safety car was required to clean the track. He led Piastri by 3s, who had Sainz close behind. Hamilton ran fourth, with Verstappen rejoining sixth after changing his punctured left-rear tyre, but got a 10s penalty for causing the collision.

Russell inherited a 2.6s win over Piastri, Sainz, Hamilton and Verstappen. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) beat Perez in the battle for sixth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).