Russell ends win drought as Hamilton and Verstappen reignite classic rivalry in Austrian GP

The Mercedes driver made a perfect start to retain the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton produced a superb move around the outside of Charles Leclerc to snatch second place into the opening corners. Leclerc then attempted to attack Russell around the outside at Turn 3, but the Mercedes driver held firm. That allowed Hamilton to carry more speed on the exit and complete a brilliant pass around the outside of his Ferrari teammate at the next corner.

Behind them, Max Verstappen initially stayed fifth, while Antonelli held onto fourth despite running wide. The Dutchman soon fought his way past both Antonelli and Leclerc to move into third and a podium position. By Lap 8, Antonelli had also found a way past the Monegasque, setting off in pursuit of the leading trio.

On Lap 11, Hamilton and Verstappen became locked in a thrilling duel, with the Dutchman initially getting past before being overtaken again and squeezed to the outside, leaving Verstappen almost in the gravel. The Dutchman immediately came on the radio, calling for a penalty for the British driver. On Lap 13, Hamilton triggered the first round of pit stops among the front-runners, diving into the pits early to switch onto the hard compound and undercut the competition. A lap later, it was Leclerc's turn to pit, with the Ferrari driver also switching to the hard compound.

After closing back in on Hamilton, Verstappen finally made the move stick with another spectacular overtake, securing second place for good. On Lap 24, Carlos Sainz was forced to retire with a mechanical issue on his Williams, triggering a Virtual Safety Car just as Kimi Antonelli had entered the pit lane for his scheduled stop. After his pit stop, Antonelli once again drew alongside Leclerc and retook third place, setting off in pursuit of Verstappen and Russell ahead, although the gap was already close to ten seconds.

Lap after lap, Verstappen began closing in on Russell, setting up a fight for the victory, while Antonelli also started reeling in both drivers from behind, raising the prospect of a three-way battle for the win. On Lap 50, Verstappen gave up the race lead to make his final pit stop, rejoining the track well behind Russell but with fresher tyres.

Antonelli made his final pit stop on Lap 52, rejoining around five seconds behind Verstappen as he resumed his pursuit of the leading pair. There was also a thrilling battle between Hadjar and Leclerc, with the Frenchman passing the Monegasque on Lap 57 to move up into sixth place.

The leading trio closed up in the closing stages as Verstappen and Antonelli held a tyre advantage over Russell, but with too few laps remaining, the British driver managed to hold onto the lead, taking the chequered flag first to finally return to winning ways. It was a difficult race for McLaren, and especially Ferrari, which finished well outside the podium places despite starting from second and third on the grid.