George Russell dominates his way to victory at Austrian Grand Prix
28th June 2026Mercedes George Russell has converted pole position into the race win as the British driver dominated his way to victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Russell has claimed his seventh career victory as he dominated the race at the Austrian Red Bull Ring, bouncing back after a handful of disappointing results spanning from Canada, Monaco and Barcelona.
The British driver looked to be in complete control from the start and until the dying embers of the race, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen cut down the gap to 1.6 seconds, in second.
Both drivers finished ahead of Russell’s teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who completed the podium. After bailing out of his qualifying lap, thanks to Verstappen’s Q3 crash, Antonelli recovered to third despite a scrappy opening lap where the championship leader exceeded track limits a few times as he fought his way to the front.
F1’s top three drivers were separated by a maximum of 1.9 seconds at the chequered flag, with that being the difference between Russell and Antonelli.
Although they started within the top three, neither Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc could maximise on their starting position. Instead, both drivers fell backwards, ultimately falling back to fifth and eighth, overall.
As a result, it means Antonelli has lost ground in the championship again, with Russell jumping Hamilton in the world drivers’ standings.
The 19-year-old remains the championship leader, but his gap has been reduced to 40 points. Russell is only six points ahead of Hamilton, who returns to third, 46 points behind Antonelli.
Next up is the British Grand Prix, taking place at the Iconic Silverstone circuit on July 3 – July 5, 2026.
The Austrian Grand Prix results:
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
- Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
- Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi
- Nico Hulkenberg, Audi
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Oliver Bearman, Haas
- Franco Colapinto, Alpine
- Esteban Ocon, Haas
- Alexander Albon, Williams
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
Retirements
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- Carlos Sainz, Williams
- Sergio Perez, Cadillac
- Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Austrian Grand Prix: what are the possible race strategies?
- Russell ‘did everything right’ after Verstappen crash in Austrian GP
- F1 Austrian GP: Antonelli tops both practice, reliability problems and rookies
- Mercedes given ‘reality check’ ahead of Austrian Grand Prix
- McLaren to bring ‘experimental rear wing’ to Austrian Grand Prix
- Austrian Grand Prix: F1 schedule and starting times
- Austrian Grand Prix: Latest weather forecast as heatwave soars temperatures
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
