George claims second F1 victory in Spielberg

June 30, 2024
2024 Round 11
2024 Round 11
2024 Round 11
Red Bull Ring
George Russell takes victory at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix after an action-packed Sprint weekend.
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George claims second F1 victory in Spielberg

June 30, 2024
2024 Round 11
2024 Round 11
George Russell takes victory at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix after an action-packed Sprint weekend.

George claims second F1 victory in Spielberg

June 30, 2024
2024 Round 11
2024 Round 11
George Russell takes victory at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix after an action-packed Sprint weekend.

George claims second F1 victory in Spielberg

Published:
June 30, 2024
at
5:00 pm

British Formula One driver George Russell scored his second Formula One victory at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, a race where he’d previously finished seventh in 2023 and fourth in 2022.

One Free Practice to get up to speed

George and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team began the weekend by completing several runs on Hard tyres in Free Practice One. Though George reported some oversteer, he was happy with the car overall.

After a brief red flag, George continued on the same set of Hards before switching to Softs at the end of the session. At the end of the weekend's sole Free Practice session, George classified P8.

WATCH: 2024 AUSTRIAN FREE PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

Second row start for George

George started the second of Friday’s sessions by placing P2 on his only lap of SQ1, securing his place in SQ2.

In the second segment of Sprint Qualifying, George’s first and only lap was only 0.139 away from P1. He safely moved through to SQ3 in P2.

George came out of the pits for SQ3 with less than three minutes to go, allowing only one lap to set the fastest time. Though he initially topped the leaderboard, George had experienced some high-speed understeer in Turn 7. As a result, after more drivers set faster times, George finished the session in P4.

WATCH: 2024 AUSTRIAN SPRINT QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Five points in the Sprint

George started the third Sprint of 2024 from fourth on used Mediums.

Though he was overtaken by Carlos Sainz on the opening lap, George stayed close and managed to take the place back on Lap 8.

Sainz continued to chase George but was unable to make the move.  

In the end, George crossed the line in P4 and picked up five points.

WATCH: 2024 AUSTRIAN SPRINT HIGHLIGHTS

Top three in Qualifying

George opted not to set an early run in Q1. He came out on track after most other drivers had already set a lap and immediately set the fastest time of the first and final sectors, resulting in him topping the leaderboard with a time of 1:05.614.

Coming out for another lap of Q1 with less than four minutes to go, George ultimately finished Q1 in P11, only 0.322 seconds away from P1.

On his first lap of Q2, George initially went P2. He set another lap later in the session and went through to Q3 in P3.

George’s first lap of Q3 put him P3. On his second lap of Q3, he set a better middle sector, securing third in Qualifying.

WATCH: 2024 AUSTRIAN QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Victory in Austria!

George started the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix from the second row of the grid, an ideal place to pick up a podium result.

On Lap 3, George was overtaken by team-mate Lewis Hamilton into Turn 3, but George fought back ahead of Turn 4 and retook the position.

After an initial stint on Medium tyres, George made his first stop of the Grand Prix at the end of Lap 22. Switching to Mediums, he came back onto the track in P4.

He was the only car in the top 10 who fitted the Medium tyre for the middle stint, with everyone else opting for Hards.

At the end of Lap 46, George made his second pitstop. This time, he pitted for Hards and came back out in P6.

As drivers around him also pitted, George ended up back in P3, putting him in an ideal position to pick up the pieces when Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided ahead of him.

With seven laps to go, George took the lead of the race.

He crossed the finish line 1.9 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, claiming the second win of his F1 career and 25 points.

The 2024 F1 season will resume on 5-7 July for George’s home race at the British Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2024 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team driver:

Incredible! That’s the only way I can describe it. We had a tough fight in the early stages to make sure we held on to P3. That would prove crucial at the end. I could see that Max (Verstappen) and Lando (Norris) were having a big battle. We were only just over 10 seconds behind the pair of them, which is really encouraging pace-wise. I knew there was a possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and that’s exactly where we were. I am so proud to be back on the top step of the podium.
The team have done an amazing job to get us closer to the fight at the front. We have made so many strides since the start of the season. The last few races have been great and hopefully there is more to come. It’s no secret that Max and Lando are a little bit ahead of us at present but we’re now consistently putting ourselves in that third position. It’s an exciting time for us; we’re riding a bit of a wave, and I can’t wait to go to my home race at Silverstone next week and see what we can do there.