George Russell reignited his F1 championship hopes after a frustrating period with an impressive win at the Austrian Grand Prix.
In Red Bull’s home race, Russell took a controversial pole position and then managed the race well, holding off the well-supported Max Verstappen and fast-finishing Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli for his first victory since the opening race of the season.
That victory in Australia came 112 days before his latest triumph but a promising display in Barcelona a fortnight prior, when he finished second, restored some confidence for Russell and he took it to another level in Spielberg.
It means he leapfrogs fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton into second spot in the Drivers’ Championship and narrowed the deficit to Antonelli ahead of a home grand prix at Silverstone next weekend.
Here are the standings after the Barcelona-Catalunya GP:
Driver standings after Austrian GP
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 171 points
2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 131 points
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 125 points
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 80 points
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 79 points
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 79 points
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 73 points
8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 42 points
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 41 points
10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 30 points
11. Ollie Bearman (Haas) - 18 points
12. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) - 16 points
13. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) -14 points
14. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 6 points
15. Alex Albon (Williams) - 5 poins
16. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 3 points
17. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) - 2 points
18. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 1 point
19. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) - 0 points
20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) - 0 points
21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) - 0 points
22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 0 points
Constructor standings after Austrian GP
1. Mercedes - 302 points
2. Ferrari - 204 points
3. McLaren - 159 points
4. Red Bull - 115 points
5. Alpine - 57 points
6. Racing Bulls - 44 points
7. Haas - 21 points
8. Williams - 11 points
9. Audi - 2 points
10. Aston Martin - 1 point
11. Cadillac - 0 points
What is the 2026 race calendar?
ROUND 9 - GREAT BRITAIN (sprint weekend)
Silverstone Circuit - 3-5 July
ROUND 10 - BELGIUM
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 17-19 July
ROUND 11 - HUNGARY
Hungaroring, Budapest - 24-26 July
ROUND 12 - NETHERLANDS (sprint weekend)
Circuit Zandvoort - 21-23 August
ROUND 13 - ITALY
Monza Circuit - 4-6 September
ROUND 14 - SPAIN (Madrid)
Circuito de Madring - 11-13 September
ROUND 15 - AZERBAIJAN
Baku City Circuit - 25-27 September
ROUND 16 - SINGAPORE (sprint weekend)
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 9-11 October
ROUND 17 - UNITED STATES
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 23-25 October
ROUND 18 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 30 October-1 November
ROUND 19 - BRAZIL
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 6-8 November
ROUND 20 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 19-21 November
ROUND 21 - QATAR
Lusail International Circuit - 27-29 November
ROUND 22 - ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit - 4-6 December
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