Russell celebrates victory after 'picking up the pieces'
George Russell came away from the Austrian Grand Prix with a dream victory at the Red Bull Ring, having been in the right place at the right time to pick up the pieces from the Max Verstappen/Lando Norris collision.
It's the 26-year-old Mercedes driver's second career win in F1, after his first came in the 2022 Sao Paulo GP in Brazil.
He started the race from third place, but unlike last week in Spain he was unable to make an early lunge to the front and instead found himself fighting off his team mate Lewis Hamilton to keep the podium position.
Once the race settled down, Russell had a fairly lonely afternoon ahead as he sought to contain the threat from Ferrari's Carlos Sainz while Verstappen and Norris disappeared into the distance.
A slow final stop for Verstappen enabled Norris to get on the attack, but Russell was too far back to join the chase and could only hope that something would happen to take the lead pair out of play before the finish.
That's exactly what happened on lap 64 when the Red Bull and McLaren were going all-out fighting for the lead. Contact in turn 3 left both cars with rear punctures and limping back to pit lane. Russell was now in control of the race.
By the time the race resumed following a brief Virtual Safety Car period, Oscar Piastri had managed to pass Hamilton and Sainz to take second place alongside Russell on the podium.
"Incredible. It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold onto P3," he said, "That would prove crucial at the end."
Russell said that he was pleased that the Mercedes had the pace to remain as close as it was to the frontrunners.
"I couldn't believe how close we were to Lando and Max, it was only about 12-13 seconds which is really encouraging pace-wise," he said when interviewed in parc ferme
"I saw on the TV that Max and Lando was getting close and [figured] that Lando would go for the race win," he said. "I knew there was the possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You're always dreaming.
"[When it happened] the team did an amazing job to be there to pick up the pieces, and that is where we were," he beamed, adding that Mercedes were enjoying a renaissance at the moment after too long in the doldrums.
"It is no secret that Red Bull with Max and McLaren with Lando are still a little bit out in front, but we're putting ourselves in that position in case anything happens up front we are there to pick it up."
Russell had taken pole position in Canada and went on to finish that race on the podium, while it was Hamilton's turn to cross the line in third place in Spain.
"We are riding a bit of a wave at the moment. The last three races have been incredible. Realistically we could have won the race in Canada, so this makes up for that."
Russell had expected another podium to be the best he could get this weekend, after just missing out in yesterday's Sprint race. Instead, he was able to deliver a famous victory.
"We are proud to be back on the top step," he said. "The team have worked so hard, we've made so many strides since the start of the season. There is more to come.
"It's an exciting time for us," he concluded. "I can't wait to go to my home race at Silverstone next week and see what we can do there."
"It is a great feeling to get back on to the top step of the podium," confirmed Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. "George did a fantastic job throughout the race to keep himself within touching distance of the front two.
"It was a third place on pace, and we would have been pleased with that as it highlights the progress we continue to make. We did think there could be a chance for more though with the battle ahead, and we were able to take advantage of that."
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