Russell ends Austrian GP drought with commanding win as Wolff hails his "cold-blooded" drive

George Russell delivered a composed wire-to-wire victory at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, converting pole position into a commanding win at the Red Bull Ring to claim his first grand prix triumph since Melbourne earlier this season.

The result ended a difficult stretch for the 28-year-old, during which his teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli had seized the championship lead with five consecutive wins across China, Japan, Miami, Canada and Monaco. Antonelli started fourth and finished third in Austria, keeping him in contention at the top of the standings.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was effusive in his praise for Russell’s performance, singling out the Briton’s mental clarity and tyre management as the keys to the win.

“Since Q3 yesterday, until now, perfect execution. He was quick, managed the tyres well, cold-blooded, really happy for him,” Wolff said after the race.

Wolff also revealed the message the team had delivered to Russell in the build-up to the weekend, urging him to simplify his approach rather than overthink his situation.

“He knows he can drive fast and sometimes you just have to put one and one together. Just drive! It’s never good when racing drivers think too much. We said the best race is the quickest race. Don’t manage, make sure you don’t kill the rears, but we are doing this by pushing the front and that’s what he did — not thinking too much about strategy or the gap behind. Just go, extract the maximum from the car, and that’s what he did.”

Despite Antonelli’s third-place finish coming at a cost — Wolff acknowledged the 19-year-old pushed too hard in the opening laps in pursuit of the lead — the Mercedes boss remained firmly supportive of his younger driver’s instincts.

“I am very proud of Kimi. He was very eager in the beginning to get the victory done in the first couple of laps, and that cost him, but I liked the enthusiasm. He just goes for it. We want a driver to be full on the attack all the time. You can’t accelerate a donkey, but you can calm down a racehorse.”

Russell’s win, combined with Antonelli’s podium, means Mercedes leave Austria with a strong double points haul as the championship battle between the two team-mates intensifies heading into the summer stretch of the calendar.