George Russell was the unlikely winner of Sunday's Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, courtesy of a late collision between race leaders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
The Mercedes driver sat fairly comfortably in third place for the majority of the race before a dramatic incident took place ahead of him.
Verstappen and Norris made heavy contact at Turn 3 on lap 64 of 71, with the latter brought into the pits and subsequently retired.
Championship leader Verstappen was also forced into the pitlane with a puncture but recovered to finish the race, albeit with a 10-second penalty.
Who won the F1 Austrian Grand Prix?
George Russell recorded his second career F1 race win at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
GEORGE RUSSELL WINS A CRAZY AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX!! 🤩#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/FiqMp2nfFT
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
The British driver was joined by McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on the podium.
The result also marked Mercedes' first race victory of the season, becoming the fourth constructor to secure P1 in 2024.
MORE: Which driver has the most wins in F1 history?
Verstappen appeared to be on track for a routine win, but a two-stop strategy and slow pitstop brought Norris within seconds of the Dutchman.
The pair duelled for over 10 laps, with the McLaren star making numerous overtake attempts on the Red Bull racer, particularly at Turn 3.
As he attempted a move around the outside of Verstappen, Norris was pushed off track, with both drivers losing speed and control of their respective cars.
Race control later deemed Verstappen to be at fault for the incident.
MORE: F1 full season schedule for 2024
Russell gladly assumed leadership of the race and was given a little breather thanks to a virtual safety car.
After bravely overtaking Sainz, Piastri appeared to have a chance to snatch the win, but ultimately couldn't hunt down the three-second gap in the few remaining laps.
Pierre Gasly had a quietly strong race, picking up a rare point for Alpine, while Haas secured an important double points finish.
F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Driver of the day
Lando Norris was voted by the fans as the driver of the day in Austria.
F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Race results, standings
Note: Standings subject to change following post-race time penalties.
| Driver | |||
| 1. | George Russell (Mercedes) | 11. | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) |
| 2. | Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | 12. | Esteban Ocon (Alpine) |
| 3. | Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) | 13. | Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | 14. | Yuki Tsunoda (RB) |
| 5. | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 15. | Alex Albon (Williams) |
| 6. | Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) | 16. | Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) |
| 7. | Sergio Perez (Red Bull) | 17. | Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) |
| 8. | Kevin Magnussen (Haas) | 18. | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) |
| 9. | Daniel Ricciardo (RB) | 19. | Logan Sargeant (Williams) |
| 10. | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) | DNF | Lando Norris (McLaren) |
F1 Austria: Pre-race grid order
1. Verstappen, 2. Norris, 3. Russell, 4. Sainz, 5. Hamilton, 6. Leclerc, 7. Piastri, 8. Perez, 9. Hulkenberg, 10. Ocon
11. Ricciardo, 12. Magnussen, 13. Gasly, 14. Tsunoda, 15. Alonso, 16. Albon, 17. Stroll, 18. Bottas, 19. Sargeant, 20. Zhou
F1 Drivers' World Championship 2024 updated standings, points
| Position | 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 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 2 |
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber | 0 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber | 0 |
| 21 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 0 |
MORE: Who will Carlos Sainz drive for next season?
F1 Constructors' Championship 2024 updated standings, points
| Position | Team | Points |
| 1 | Red Bull | 355 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 291 |
| 3 | McLaren | 268 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 196 |
| 5 | Aston Martin | 58 |
| 6 | RB | 30 |
| 7 | Haas | 19 |
| 8 | Alpine | 9 |
| 9 | Williams | 2 |
| 10 | Kick Sauber | 0 |
F1 live stream, TV channel to watch races in 2024
| Country | TV channel | Live stream |
| USA | — | FUBO, F1TV |
| Canada | TSN (English); RDS (French) | TSN Direct |
| UK | Sky Sports F1 | SkyGo, NOW TV |
| Australia | Fox Sports | Foxtel Go, Kayo Sports |
| India | — | F1 TV Pro |
