F1 Austrian GP live commentary and updates - race day

And that's where we'll close it out for today! Thank you very much for joining us, but keep an eye across Autosport and Motorsport.com for all the post-race reaction, news, and features. 

Catch you next weekend for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone! 

Five quick takeaways

Here are a few quick thoughts on a busy Austrian Grand Prix from our editors and journalists - click here to read more! 

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Darko Bandic / Getty Images

Race report

Formula 1

F1 Austrian GP: Russell holds off Verstappen to win and cut Antonelli’s championship lead

The pre-season title favourite has taken his first victory since the F1 2026 opener in Australia

Verstappen, second place: "Yeah, I think it was a very good race for us. The first laps were quite fun and then trying to manage the tyres. The car was in a good window for half of the race, and then picked up a few issues which prevented me from finding the nice rhythm."

Antonelli: third place: "I was a bit too excited in the first lap and didn't drive to well. But after I changed tyre I reset, the pace was strong, and it was a shame I joined the party a bit too late! Two or three more laps would have been fun."

Bit of a much-needed win for Russell, particularly with Antonelli third, as it buys him an extra 10 points this weekend. 40 points now between them as Russell gets back into second in the drivers' championship.

"It's been a little while so I'm definitely going to enjoy this one tonight," Russell says. "Max and Red Bull were incredibly quick this weekend, so kudos to them. I was having to push every single lap, and every lap I was looking at the timing board. The team timed [the stops] to perfection."

"Drink system failed, so I'm a little bit thirsty," Russell adds. At least it's not a hot day, or anything...

Russell is 2.1s clear of Verstappen, but Antonelli's 0.6s behind - and right behind him on the exit of Turn 3! 

He's not able to get the move down into Turn 4, and that might be it...

Verstappen's going to have to look behind him now, as Antonelli will potentially get overtake on the final lap. This is giving Russell some breathing space now...final lap coming up.

Russell - 3.0s - Verstappen, with three laps to go. Antonelli is now just 1.5s behind the Dutchman. Can Mercedes grab a late 1-2 at the death?

Antonelli is now just 2.2s behind Verstappen, while Norris has shipped a bit of time to Hadjar - so it looks like the Red Bull driver might hang onto sixth here.

Norris is within a second of Hadjar now, so sixth place should be contested in these final laps.

The lead gap is down to 3.7s, as Verstappen is running out of time here as Russell keeps putting the laps together.

Verstappen duly finds half a second over the past two laps and he's cut it down to 4.1s - so it's not over yet. 

Traffic didn't quite help Russell there, as Albon was a bit in his way. 

It's still 5.1s, so Russell's doing what he needs to go. Antonelli is 3.5s behind still.

Piastri has 9.2s in arrears, but Hamilton isn't catching him. Norris is chipping little bits out of Hadjar.

Norris is 1.6s off Hadjar now, so there's a good chance that he can upgrade his position to sixth if he can continue his momentum.

Russell has stabilised the gap to the front, which stands at five seconds. Verstappen will need to find a second per lap to get the lead - and it won't happen on pure pace.

5.3s between the leaders now, and Antonelli sits 3.5s behind. 

Russell might hold on, but it'll be close.

Russell is less than six seconds clear of Verstappen now, and will hope that Antonelli will offer the Red Bull something to think about in the closing stages. 

Leclerc's taken the softs, and has shaken out in a lonely eighth. 

Norris draws alongside Leclerc at Turn 3, gets ahead, and ensures he's not counter-attacked into Turn 4 as Leclerc's tyres are toast. 2.7s to catch Hadjar now.

Leclerc indeed will pit.

Norris gets a tow from the lapped Gasly as he continues to hunt down Leclerc. He's right with him now - Leclerc is asking if he'll lose anything by stopping again.

Russell's lead is continuing to fall, now just 6.7s over Verstappen. 

No further investigation for Norris in that pitlane moment, and he's now catching Leclerc to rescue seventh - and potentially sixth from Hadjar if he's got the pace.

Russell is 7.1s up on Verstappen as it stands.

Norris is trying to close in on Hadjar, who attacks Leclerc at Turn 3 - not that we could see it, as the camera focused on the back of a random dude's head. The Red Bull powers through Turn 5 to deny the switchback from Leclerc.

"These tyres are ****ed", Leclerc adds. 

In the lower reaches of the points, Lawson is attempting to keep the 1.6s gap between himself and Lindblad...actually, it looks like Lindblad's made a mistake somewhere as he's ceded two seconds to his team-mate.

Russell is 8.8s ahead of Verstappen, so at this rate the two should be close together by the end of the race. 

Antonelli is 4.8s behind the Red Bull, as Piastri is 2.1s behind. Hamilton has overcome the Leclerc situation. 

Hamilton's got Leclerc for company again as the Briton was a bit slow out of the marks when the race restarted. 

Norris has been noted for a potential pit infringement after clearing a retiring Stroll on the entry to the pitlane.

Hamilton draws alongside Leclerc and goes down the inside into Turn 3. Piastri will be next on his radar. 

The Racing Bulls have both stopped, and Lindblad is back behind Lawson.

We have a quick VSC to clear a bollard as Albon sheared it off the inside kerb. 

Hamilton's caught Leclerc once more, and should be able to get through relatively shortly. 

Antonelli is not one-stopping either, and takes fresh hard tyres. Verstappen will return to second place. 

Hard tyres for Verstappen, while Antonelli is given licence to push. Is he one-stopping? 

Indeed, Verstappen is about 11s off Russell, but he'll have a tyre offset to catch Russell. 

Antonelli is now within two seconds of Verstappen, and closing the Red Bull down - Verstappen reports that he has no tyres, and thus comes in to stop. He'll probably be about 10s down on Russell when he returns to the track.

Norris isn't one-stopping, as he pits for a final set of tyres - and gets accosted by an Alpine in the pitlane.

Piastri goes down the inside of Leclerc at Turn 3, and bolts away to ensure Leclerc can't deliver a riposte into Turn 4. 

Norris rejoins in eighth. 

Verstappen is 3.6s clear of Antonelli, who is 11.6s clear of Russell. Norris is 5.8s behind and potentially gambling on a one-stop.

Piastri is still on Leclerc's tail. 

Verstappen's aiming to build a tyre offset, so he'll stay out for a bit longer. Russell's got free air and in the 1m10s, so he's closing, but thinks Antonelli staying out jeopardises his own strategy. 

So, Verstappen's going to have to go full pelt to cover Russell on the overcut. Russell's back out, and will have to do the mother of outlaps to cover off Verstappen whenever he pits.

Hadjar's been held up by Ocon, and has lost ground to Piastri and Hamilton there.

Piastri AND Hamilton will pit here, and the status quo remains. Leclerc goes back ahead for now, as Hamilton's back on the hard tyre. It seems that the two were responding to Hadjar's stop.

Russell pits at the end of the lap for his final service. 

Russell has stabilised it a little bit as Verstappen hits the Mercedes' dirty air. Antonelli isn't out of this either, getting a little bit closer to this leading pair.

Piastri continues to keep Hamilton at arm's length, as it looks like the Ferrari's soft tyres are dropping off.

Duuuun DUN. Duuuun DUN. Verstappen is 1.3s behind Russell now. He's coming to get you, George! 

Piastri has evaded the threat of Hamilton for now, as the Ferrari falls out of overtake range. Hadjar pits for the hard tyre, which should be his final stop.

"We need to get Piastri, I know you're trying," Hamilton is told, and the Ferrari driver is indeed hustling. He holds a snap at Turn 9, and continues his merry way.

Piastri's now got to defend, as Hamilton is right on his tail - you bat away one Ferrari, and the other turns up to fight.

Russell's lead is now looking less assured as Verstappen is within 2s - and the Dutchman is very happy on his hard tyres.

Piastri DIVES down the inside of Leclerc at Turn 3, producing a very robust move to clinch fourth for now. 

Hamilton rounds his team-mate on the outside of Turn 6 to move up to fifth, as Leclerc now comes in to pit. 

Hell of a dive from Piastri, but does Leclerc have damage? He's come in for a tyre-swap, but Ferrari doesn't fix any of the minor damage to his front wing.

Half distance, and this has been pretty relentless so far! 

Russell's lead to Verstappen is now just 2.5s, as the Red Bull driver has picked up the pace...or has Russell made a mistake? Piastri is close to Leclerc, but missing that final bit of push needed to attack the Ferrari in front. 

Hamilton will start to catch Piastri again, now that he's not overheating, but Piastri will start to get the overtake mode from Leclerc. 

Antonelli's closing Verstappen, who in turn is chipping about a tenth per lap out of Russell.