F1 Driver Standings as Russell wins shock Austria Grand Prix

George Russell was the surprise winner of the Austrian Grand Prix yesterday after F1 champion Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided in the late stages to hand the Brit his first win since 2022.

George Russell was the surprise winner of the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday after F1 champion Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided in the late stages to hand the Brit his first win since 2022.

Verstappen looked to be in course for a comfortable win at the Red Bull ring but a poor pit stop saw McLaren’s Norris close right in on the championship leader.

After multiple overtake attempts, Norris eventually looked to have the move done but Verstappen veered into the McLaren causing both to suffer heavy damage.

Norris retired from the race, after receiving a penalty for exceeding track limits, while Verstappen limped home in fifth despite a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.

Oscar Piastri finished second with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr in third.

Race winner Russell said: “It is incredible. I saw on the TV Max and Lando were going hard. You’ve got to be in there to pick up the pieces and that’s where we were.

“They were going for it and I couldn’t believe how close we got. There’s always a possibility [of winning]. The last three races have been incredible so there’s more to come.

“It’s no secret Red Bull and McLaren are out in front but we are always putting ourselves in that third position. We are riding a bit of a wave at the moment. Realistically we could have won in Canada so this makes up for that.”

Piastri said: “There were a lot of what ifs and maybes. I know it is only my fourth podium in F1 but I was so close to the win.

“Silverstone is a place of good memories and hopefully we can be up at the front. We are in the mix so I am excited.”

Sainz said: “Quite an eventful race. For us it was about trying to keep up with George [Russell]. We knew they would have an advantage. P3 is a good result, we can be happy and proud of that.

“It is happy days for F1 when there is action at the front. We’re coming off the back of a tough couple of races, podiums like this are always good news.”

The F1 paddock travels onto Northamptonshire for the British Grand Prix this weekend.

F1 Driver Standings

Pos	Driver	Team	Points
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	237
2	Lando Norris	McLaren	156
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	150
4	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	135
5	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	118
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	112
7	George Russell	Mercedes	111
8	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	85
9	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	41
10	Yuki Tsunoda	RB	19
11	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	17
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	14
13	Daniel Ricciardo	RB	11
14	Oliver Bearman	Ferrari	6
15	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	6
16	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	5
17	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	3
18	Alex Albon	Williams	2
19	Zhou Guanyu	Sauber	0
20	Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	0
21	Logan Sargeant	Williams	0