Russell holds off Verstappen at Red Bull Ring to end his 2026 drought

George Russell ended a lengthy wait for his second 2026 victory by winning the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, holding off a charging Max Verstappen to finish 1.6 seconds clear at the flag. Kimi Antonelli, Russell’s Mercedes team-mate and championship leader, completed the podium in third.

The win was Russell’s first since the Melbourne season opener, a gap that had allowed the 19-year-old Antonelli to rack up five victories and seize the title lead. That momentum shifted in Barcelona, where Antonelli retired and Hamilton won, with Russell finishing second — a result that set up his Red Bull Ring charge perfectly.

Russell had already laid the groundwork in qualifying, snatching pole from Charles Leclerc after Verstappen crashed late in the session, with Lewis Hamilton and Antonelli lining up on the second row. All four started on medium tyres, and the opening lap was immediately frantic: Russell held his lead, Antonelli ran wide at Turns 1 and 3, and Hamilton moved past Ferrari team-mate Leclerc at Turn 5.

That left Leclerc exposed to Antonelli, who launched his attack at Turn 1 on lap two. The Italian briefly got ahead but ran off track in the process and was forced to surrender the position — an opening Verstappen exploited immediately. The Red Bull driver swept past Antonelli at Turn 5 and Leclerc at the next corner, then set his sights on Hamilton.

What followed was one of the race’s defining passages: a prolonged, aggressive duel between the two former title rivals. Verstappen lunged down the inside of Turn 3 on lap 11, Hamilton fought back at Turn 5, and the pair traded positions across multiple laps. On lap 22, Verstappen finally made the move stick by going down the inside of Turn 6 — having learned from an earlier failed attempt on the outside — to end the wheel-to-wheel battle and claim second.

A virtual safety car, triggered when Carlos Sainz lost power and stopped beside the pit wall, prompted Hamilton to make his second stop three laps later, switching from hards to softs. That ultimately left Verstappen clear in second, unable to close the gap to Russell at the front.

The result tightens the championship picture heading into the next round, with Russell cutting into Antonelli’s lead and Verstappen remaining a factor despite Red Bull’s inconsistent 2026 form.