2024 Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Dramatic victory for George and the team in Spielberg

• George Russell claimed victory in today’s Austrian Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth.
• In a race that was slow to the boil, late drama made up for the early stages; George taking advantage of a clash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to win.
• Starting P3 and P5 respectively, George held position at the start with Lewis passing the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz at turn one.
• The incident was noted however for Lewis gaining an advantage by running off track and he therefore gave the position back.
• Whilst he pushed hard to get gain the position once again, his race was compromised by floor damage picked up early on and led to a loss of performance.
• Both drivers ran a two-stop strategy, starting on the Medium compound tyre. George took a new Medium compound at his first stop, with Lewis the Hard.
• Lewis was noted for crossing the white line at pit entry however. That led to a five-second time penalty that he served at his second stop, as he took the Medium compound tyre, and dropped him behind the McLaren of Piastri.
• The team’s race looked set to end with George finishing P3 and Lewis P6 before Verstappen and Norris clashed for the lead on lap 64.
• With both cars suffering damage, it was with an element of good fortune that George cycled through to the lead.
• He closed out the final few laps without incident to take his second Grand Prix victory and the team’s first since the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix.
  
  

George Russell

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.

Lewis Hamilton

Congratulations to George and the team. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth really deserves this result. They have worked so hard to bring performance to the car and we are starting to get us closer and closer to the very front. We put in so much effort so to get a result like this is a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts.

From my side, it wasn’t the cleanest weekend. I picked up some damage early on and that compromised my race, unfortunately. We now look ahead to Silverstone. It is always such a special weekend, and I can’t wait to see all the fans there. It is a track that should hopefully suit us a little better than here in Austria so let’s see what we can do.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

It is a great feeling to get back on to the top step of the podium. It is a fantastic reward for the hard work and efforts of everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. We have taken good steps forward in recent races, and we are excited about what is still to come. We knew our outright pace today wouldn’t quite be enough to challenge for victory. We therefore made sure we maximised our race and were able to pick up the pieces, should anything happen. We enjoyed some good fortune but that is motor racing.

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. Lewis, meanwhile, was unfortunate today. Firstly, that he had to give the position back to the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and secondly, as he picked up floor damage which caused him a loss of performance. Nevertheless, he fought hard and drove a strong race to take a valuable P4.

We now look forward to Silverstone next week. We are encouraged by our overall performance this weekend at a track that has not normally been a favourite for our cars. Our aim over the next few races is to continue to show progress and aim to get closer to the front.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We'll allow ourselves to enjoy the win today; it's been a while! A big well done to George and the whole team across Brackley and Brixworth. We know fine well we have more work to do before we can take victory on merit, but it's taken a lot of effort and determination from the team to get us to a point where we are regularly fighting for podiums. That is what put us in a position today to benefit from Max and Lando's misfortune.

Lewis had a tougher time. He picked up floor damage early in the race and, that together with the time penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry, took him out of contention. That said, we've managed to score good points with both cars today and the picture in the Constructors’ Championship has improved dramatically over the last three races. We will enjoy tonight and first thing tomorrow, we will shift our focus to Silverstone. It's a great event with a fantastic crowd, and the team and drivers will be doing everything we can to build on our recent momentum.