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    F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Russell wins after Verstappen and Norris collide – as it happened

    By Will Unwin,

    6 hours ago
    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23MkJ4_0u9TY2MR00
    George Russell celebrates on the podium. Photograph: Jure Makovec/AFP/Getty Images

    4.17pm BST

    Giles Richards's race report

    Related: George Russell handed F1 victory as Verstappen and Norris collide in Austria

    3.58pm BST

    Thank you very much for joining me. Giles Richards’ report will be winging its way to you soon

    3.54pm BST

    Norris: “I am disappointed, nothing more than that. It was a good race. I was looking forward to a strong, fair battle but I wouldn’t say that it was in the end. I did a mistake-free race but I was taken out.

    “You are not allowed to react, he did it three times out of three, two times I avoided it. The third time he ran into me. He ruined his own race, as much as he ruined mine. It was not my own fault.

    “I just need to keep doing what I did today which was good enough for the win. I can’t do anymore. I got letdown today.

    “If he says he did nothing wrong, I will lose a lot of respect for that. If he admits to being a bit stupid and a bit reckless, I will lose a small amount of respect because it is tough to take.”

    3.45pm BST

    The incident.

    3.43pm BST

    God Save the King plays. Zimmer has not reworked it.

    3.42pm BST

    The champagne bottles are being readied as the top three head out to the podium.

    3.40pm BST

    Verstappen is not happy with being blamed for the collision. Red Bull also blame Norris. All a bit odd as it was Verstappen’s fault.

    3.38pm BST

    Russell: “Incredible. I think it was a tough fight at the beginning of the race. I saw Max and Lando was tight. We were in the fight and picked up the pieces.

    “They were going for it and I couldn’t believe how close I was to Lando and Max. I thought there was possibility. We have had an amazing past three races, there’s more to come.

    “We are always putting ourselves in third and if anything happens upfront, we are there.”

    3.36pm BST

    Piastri: “A lot of what ifs and maybes. I know this is only my fourth podium in F1 but is so close to a win, it hurts a little bit.”

    3.34pm BST

    Sainz: “Quite an eventful race upfront. We were trying to keep up with George. This weekend has not been easy for us, to come away with 15 points is a good result.

    “We are not there to fight for the win yet but we are doing our best. We will keep pushing flat out to stay in the fight.”

    3.33pm BST

    The track invasion begins as the fans descend.

    3.30pm BST

    Well, that all got quite interesting late on. It looked like a decent battle between Verstappen and Norris, with a few bits of stewards inquiries. It shows what can happen in a split second.

    “Wooooooo, yabadabadoo,” comes the shout from Russell. “It is not over, till its over.”

    3.28pm BST

    Top six

    1 George Russell (Mercedes)
    2 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
    3 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari
    4 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
    5 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
    6 Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

    3.27pm BST

    George Russell wins Austrian Grand Prix

    The crash between Norris and Verstappen has gifted victory to Russell who enjoyed a smooth race and made the most of his competitors’ misfortune.

    Updated at 3.35pm BST

    3.26pm BST

    Lap 70/71: Russell just needs to play safe here. Piastri does not have enough track to get close enough to the Brit.

    3.25pm BST

    Lap 69/71: The difference between first and second is two and a half seconds but Piastri is chipping away.

    The good news for Verstappen is he now has the fastest lap of the race.

    3.23pm BST

    Lap 68/71: Russell has been gifted first but Piastri will be going for it, having been offered a shock chance to go first. Verstappen is currently sitting fifth behind Hamilton but is given a 10-second penalty for the incident with Norris.

    3.22pm BST

    Lap 67/71: Russell is told by his team “you can win this”.

    We will now have to work out who was at fault for the contact between Verstappen and Norris. Looks like Verstappen is to blame, moving to the left in front of him.

    3.20pm BST

    Lap 66/71: Piastri moves into second, almost three seconds behind Russell.

    Norris is out of the race!

    3.20pm BST

    Lap 65/71: Russell is leading with a comfortable gap to Sainz in second. Verstappen will be angry with Norris. Verstappen is out of the pits but Norris barely makes it in.

    3.19pm BST

    Lap 64/71: Norris makes contact with Verstappen. The Red Bull has a puncture and Norris takes the lead but he also has a puncture. This has been ludicrous. Both cars are creeping to the pits. Russell is in first!

    3.17pm BST

    Lap 63/71: Norris dives down the inside and forces Verstappen wide. It looks like he is in front but the Dutchman comes out ahead in the end. The stewards are looking at a few incidents now.

    3.16pm BST

    Lap 62/71: Norris needs to get get past Verstappen very soon if he wants to build a five-second lead in front of the Red Bull.

    Russell very comfortable in third and looks set for a podium finish.

    3.15pm BST

    Lap 61/71: Norris is doing his best to get into first as he thinks he could then get five seconds ahead. Verstappen holds off Norris with a double move. This is all quite tetchy.

    3.14pm BST

    Lap 60/71: Norris, in the meantime, is giving Verstappen hell. Norris says Verstappen is being dangerous by moving after he has moved.

    Norris’ track limits issues has been noted by the stewards.

    3.13pm BST

    Lap 59/71: Black and white flag for Norris over track limits. He cannot get another one of those. Norris goes past Verstappen but goes a long way off the track and has to give the place back. That could be a five-second penalty for Norris. Is that the end of this contest?

    3.11pm BST

    Lap 58/71: Norris is back behind him, the lead around 0.33 seconds. Verstappen is in defensive mode.

    Updated at 3.13pm BST

    3.10pm BST

    Lap 57/71: Verstappen says he has no grip. Norris will be able to sniff the uncertainty he is so close.

    3.09pm BST

    Lap 56/71: Verstappen gets back to being a second ahead. Maybe he has won this mini-battle for now. Norris will come back at him who has the fastest lap to his name.

    3.08pm BST

    Lap 55/71: Norris gets right up behind him but is held off by Verstappen. At turn four he decides against another overtake.

    Norris accuses of Verstappen of reacting to his move in the braking zone. Spicy.

    3.07pm BST

    Lap 54/71: Norris has cut the lead to less than a second. He will be confident when he gets into a DRS zone.

    3.06pm BST

    Lap 53/71: Norris is cutting down the Verstappen lead. The Brit will think he has a little chance here. He has DRS on his rival and puts his foot down.

    3.05pm BST

    Lap 52/71: Verstappen is back out and still in the lead on the medium compound tyre. Norris is doing the same. Is this significant?

    Verstappen is only 1.8 seconds ahead of Norris after a poor and slow pit stop. Verstappen is fuming. This could actually be interesting. Both have to make their way through traffic.

    3.03pm BST

    Lap 51/71: Verstappen really is unhappy with his tyres. Time to go in, Max? Yes!

    Norris seems to be fighting his wheels, too. Not a great time at the front. Norris follows Verstappen in.

    3.02pm BST

    Lap 50/71: Leclerc is up to 11th as he looks to reach the top 10. Will he be able to avoid a fourth pit? I doubt it.

    3.01pm BST

    Lap 49/71: Russell’s tyre change pays immediate dividends with the fastest lap of the grand prix thus far.

    3.00pm BST

    Lap 48/71: Sainz pits in what seems like an important spell in the race.

    Verstappen bemoans: “I can’t hold this much longer.”

    2.59pm BST

    Lap 47/71: Russell heads out on the hard tyres but finds himself in sixth at the moment, although knows his competitors need to pit.

    2.58pm BST

    Lap 46/71: Albon is the latest to get a five-second penalty for crossing the line at the pit entrance.

    Russell is struggling for grip at the moment. He heads in for a second pit.

    2.56pm BST

    Lap 45/71: Norris is trying to overtake/lap Leclerc as keeps trying to chase down Verstappen. He has cut the lead in recent times and might sniff an opportunity.

    2.55pm BST

    Lap 44/71: Gasly celebrates a good few laps by pitting and having a medium tyre.

    Should mention, Hamilton still needs to observe his five-second penalty.

    2.54pm BST

    Lap 43/71: Hamilton is doing well to hold onto fifth in front of Piastri who will think he has a sniff against the Brit.

    2.53pm BST

    Lap 42/71: Alpine will be happy to have their drivers in the top 10.

    Norris is worried about overheating tyres, too. No one is happy with their rubber at the moment.

    2.51pm BST

    Lap 41/71: Gasly and Ocon are having really pushing each other, reaching eighth and ninth after the Frenchman put his foot down.

    2.50pm BST

    Lap 40/71: Verstappen says his tyres are “really bad”. He is still breezing at the front, so they can’t be too, can they?

    2.49pm BST

    Lap 39/71: Leclerc is down in 17th and is still being told he can get up to 10th. I look forward to seeing how he plans to achieve this, especially with another stop likely.

    2.48pm BST

    Lap 38/71: Norris is in second, eight seconds clear of Russell. He has had no issues in this and would be very happy with this result if he can hold on.

    2.47pm BST

    Lap 37/71: Alonso takes his 10-second time penalty and then there is a change of tyres.

    Piastri is chasing down Hamilton for fifth. That could be the most interesting duel in the top sixth.

    2.45pm BST

    Lap 36/71: We are halfway through this race and it is going as everyone expected: Verstappen is laughing at the front.

    Alonso is in 13th after Ocon and Gasly moved past him. The Spaniard heads into the pits.

    2.44pm BST

    Lap 35/71: Hamilton might have some floor damage. He’s had a bit of an irksome race thus far, that will irritate him more so.

    2.43pm BST

    Lap 34/71: Norris has bettered his fastest lap. He knows speed does that lad.

    Leclerc in for his third pit!

    2.42pm BST

    Lap 33/71: Ocon and Gasly are enjoying a Alpine battle down at 12th and 13th. There is almost some contact as fight for position.

    2.41pm BST

    Lap 32/71: Everyone has pitted, with Leclerc and Sargeant already on two.

    Perez gets a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

    2.40pm BST

    Lap 31/71: The wind is picking up, making conditions a little trickier for the drivers. They will need to keep things balanced amid the gusts.

    2.38pm BST

    Lap 30/71: Leclerc is picking up speed and Ferrari think if he carries on like this, he will pick up some points. He is currently 18th.

    2.38pm BST

    Lap 29/71: Sounds like Verstappen is nursing a problem, allowing his team to analyse it.

    2.37pm BST

    Lap 28/71: Verstappen seems to be having some gear issues and is told to leave it in seventh.

    2.36pm BST

    Lap 27/71: In case you were wondering, Verstappen is breezing at the front.

    1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
    2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
    3 George Russell (Mercedes)
    4 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
    5 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
    6 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

    2.34pm BST

    Lap 26/71: Piastri pits and settles back into sixth place.

    Hamilton apologies for his bookable offence. He knows it was his fault.

    Stewards are having a look at the Verstappen release and whether it was unsafe when he nipped in front of Norris.

    2.33pm BST

    Lap 25/71: Norris is unhappy that Verstappen came out of his pit stop right in front of him. Was it safe? I am sure someone will tell us.

    Alonso gets a 10-second penalty for bumping Zhou.

    2.32pm BST

    Lap 24/71: Verstappen, Russell and Norris go into the pits. They come out behind Piastri, who is yet to pit.

    A five second penalty for Hamilton for his indiscretion by the sounds of it.

    2.30pm BST

    Lap 23/71: Hamilton under investigation for crossing the white line upon pit entry. Will he be punished for a momentary lapse in concentration?

    2.29pm BST

    Lap 22/71: The stewards will look at the Zhou-Alonso incident.

    Hamilton heads into the pit and comes back out with hard tyres. A risk worth taking?

    2.28pm BST

    Lap 21/71: Verstappen is cruising along at the front. The cameras are barely bothering to check on him because everyone knows how this is ending.

    Alonso bumps Zhou off the track. “What the f*** is he doing?” bemoans the Sauber man.

    2.27pm BST

    Lap 20/71: Ocon pits and comes out in 17th after a gloriously routine session with the mechanics.

    2.26pm BST

    Lap 19/71: The two Haas cars breeze past Zhou. Magnussen and Hulkenberg look keen to do some racing here.

    No one seems too happy with the hard tyre. Will everyone be eager to get the mediums on?

    2.24pm BST

    Lap 18/71: Leclerc comes out in last place and looks set to be lapped by Verstappen very soon. Not a great day for the Ferrari driver.

    2.23pm BST

    Lap 17/71: Leclerc looks like he needs a second pit. Hopefully he will be able to sort out any issues from the earlier contact. He is back out on the mediums.

    2.22pm BST

    Lap 16/71: This front three are going to breeze to being covered in champagne later.

    2.21pm BST

    Lap 15/71: Leclerc is struggling at the back and has been overtaken by Albon. That Ferrari should be doing better.

    2.19pm BST

    Lap 14/71: Russell was hoping podium today and he is looking good in third, three seconds ahead of Sainz.

    He will not be finishing first, however, because Verstappen is already five and a half seconds up on Norris.

    2.18pm BST

    Lap 13/71: Magnussen and Hulkenberg are now in a battle for 15th. Who will win?

    2.17pm BST

    Lap 12/71: Haas look like they have a plan involving a three-stop strategy as Hulkenberg also comes in.

    2.16pm BST

    Lap 11/71: Some pits already happening. Magnussen and Ricciardo come in for a meet and greet with the mechanics, exiting on hard tyres.

    2.15pm BST

    Lap 10/71: Despite being unable to keep up with Verstappen, Norris currently has the fastest lap.

    2.14pm BST

    Lap 9/71: Track conditions seem to be causing a bit of understeer making things a little trickier for drivers.

    Hamilton let Sainz through to avoid any further action on an incident at turn one.

    2.13pm BST

    Lap 8/71: Verstappen is more than three seconds ahead of Norris now. Really does look like it will be a straightforward day out for the Dutchman.

    2.11pm BST

    Lap 7/71: Hamilton is looking to get beyond Sainz. He is right behind him and is pushing him on every turn. Sainz is battling away to fend him off the man who will replace him at Ferrari next season.

    2.10pm BST

    Lap 6/71: Stewards are looking at the incident between Piastri and Leclerc.

    2.09pm BST

    Lap 5/71: Perez has earned himself a couple of places, otherwise we are as you were at the start.

    1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
    2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
    3 George Russell (Mercedes)
    4 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
    5 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
    6 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

    2.08pm BST

    Lap 4/71: Leclerc is back out way down in 19th. He made contact with Piastri who might still have a bit of damage to his car.

    Verstappen seems to be growing his lead every lap.

    2.06pm BST

    Lap 3/71: Hamilton is chasing down Russell … and he goes past him but then Russell does the same. What a fun few seconds that was.

    2.05pm BST

    Lap 2/71: Leclerc has to get into the pit to get a front wing change. That has gone badly.

    Verstappen is over a second ahead of Norris. Very much seems like Verstappen needs to make a mistake to give away the lead.

    2.04pm BST

    Lap 1/71: Verstappen gets off to a great start and maintains his first position. Hamilton and Sainz almost make contact a little way back but everyone seems to get through unscathed. Nope, Leclerc has lost a bit of his front wing.

    2.03pm BST

    Lights out

    And away we go!

    1.48pm BST

    The Austrian national anthem and a few military helicopters. We must be close to race time. It sounds like a Christian rock song at this stage.

    1.44pm BST

    Jos Verstappen on Max: “He knows what to do, I don’t get involved.”

    1.42pm BST

    Martin Brundle gets onto the grid for a little wander. Hans Zimmer says “I am just about to ruin Mozart forever. If you come here, you might as well go for broke.” Something to look forward to.

    1.31pm BST

    “If you take Max out of the race, this would be compelling,” say Sky Sports . It’s not exactly a big sell.

    1.30pm BST

    The cars are on the track as the drivers make their final preparations for the race. The wind is picking up in Austria.

    1.26pm BST

    Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu is starting the race from the pit lane after making a few adjustments to his car.

    1.22pm BST

    We have a whopping 71 laps today. That makes pitting strategy crucial. This is the sort of race that can be won or lost in the pits. The pressure is on.

    1.16pm BST

    Where will Verstappen go next?

    Related: Max Verstappen pledges future to Red Bull despite Mercedes rumours

    1.13pm BST

    A day where you need a hat that provides shade.

    1.08pm BST

    Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda has been fined €40,000 after he called a fellow Formula One driver “f****** retarded” in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

    Tsunoda, who competes for Red Bull’s junior team, RB, took aim at Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu over the radio after he believed he was obstructed in the pit-lane. “These guys are f****** retarded,” he yelled.

    Tsunoda, 24, was hauled before the stewards who slapped him with a 40,000 EUR (£33,901) fine - with half of the sanction suspended until the remainder of the season.

    A statement from Formula One’s governing FIA read: “He contended that his understanding of the words was different, but acknowledged that this should not be considered as an excuse for what he did.”

    Updated at 1.23pm BST

    1.05pm BST

    Sport pricing out its fans? Never!

    Related: British Grand Prix director defends F1 ticket prices after Hamilton criticism

    1.02pm BST

    George Russell fancies getting a on the podium today. It is a hot day in Austria which will make things a little less fun for the drivers.

    1.00pm BST

    Preamble

    Max Verstappen in on pole so, in theory, everything is as it should be. There are, however, a few issue swirling around the Red Bull garage. Papa Verstappen and Christian Horner do not see eye-to-eye at the moment, making the backdrop to this grand prix more fun. Naturally, Verstappen will probably win this race and another title this season but that will only be part of the story.

    Related: Max Verstappen defends father over Horner row after taking Austrian GP pole

    The starting grid:

    1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
    2 Lando Norris (McLaren)
    3 George Russell (Mercedes)
    4 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
    5 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
    6 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
    7 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
    8 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
    9 Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
    10 Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
    11 Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
    12 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
    13 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
    14 Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
    15 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
    16 Alex Albon (Williams)
    17 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
    18 Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
    19 Logan Sergeant (Williams)
    20 Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

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