George Russell taped back together the script he had written for himself, the one fate and his team-mate had ripped up. It had taken 112 days of worry, but he won the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position, his world championship dream relit.
It was his first triumph since he launched his challenge with victory in Melbourne. Since then, he has watched his supposed understudy Kimi Antonelli steer matching Mercedes machinery to the top step five times.
But in this sun-baked valley high in the Styrian mountains, it was Russell’s turn to move within 40 points of the teenaged championship leader with a serene drive, as it had to be because of a nerve-jangling mid-period of the race when Max Verstappen was on his tail.
In the end, Russell’s pace and assurance were too much, with Verstappen finishing a typically pugnacious second for Red Bull and Antonelli third.
Russell deserved success ever since his blistering pole on Saturday, calmly set despite a yellow flag coming out when Verstappen spun at the penultimate corner at the end of qualifying, compelling the Briton to lift off the throttle. He knew the rules and acted in accordance with them.
Verstappen, it must be added, also richly warranted his runners-up place because the spill was not his fault. He was undone by a mechanical issue and condemned to start fifth.
But, barring a change of fortunes – and who can rule it out? – Verstappen is not contesting the championship. Russell, however, is. We can assert that with some authority after these 71 laps of the Red Bull Ring.
Had he flunked it, or others outpaced him, Russell would head to Silverstone this coming weekend in need of CPR, pronto. It was that big a weekend for him and not only owing to the mathematical equation becoming increasingly complex to compute.
George Russell’s victory in Austria took him to within 40 points of team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the drivers’ standings
The Brit cruised to victory after seeing off the challenge of a resurgent Max Verstappen
His mind needed the balm, too. He had to prove to himself that his pre-season self-belief, buttressed by winter testing, was not a chimera. Then, he bore a film-star strut. That high-stepping air had been tempered in recent weeks, misfortune and Antonelli’s relative speediness assailing him. Yes, he maintained he still backed himself, but he must have suffered faint doubts by a thousand cuts.
Now, he is back in the midst of it, his assertion that luck tends to even itself out over the course of a season threatening to be proved true.
He was cleanly away and never much rattled, at least other than for one small lock-up as Verstappen asked key questions of his character on lap 36. The curtain of opportunity revealed a glimmer of light to the Dutchman, but Russell was very quickly back into his stride.
He produced decisive fleet of foot after his second and final stop, meaning that when Verstappen pitted shortly afterwards, he was nearly 11 second back rather than breathing hot air on Russell’s neck.
If it was a revitalising day for Russell, it was less so for Lewis Hamilton, who started as Antonelli’s closest rival for the title, 40 points back after his first win for Ferrari, in Barcelona a fortnight ago.
The seven-time world champion started third and raced well, yet came off second best to Verstappen as they went wheel-to-wheel in two captivating occasions in the first third of the contest.
He fought hard, but fairly, not allowing Max a free pass. Verstappen ran his right wheels off the track as they duelled. A spray of gravel blew up. Verstappen cried foul. The stewards rightly waved away the protest.
But Verstappen was not done, and, on lap 22, brilliantly passed Hamilton with a cunning move on the inside of Turn 6. He had previously tried to pass there on the outside. Now, the artful dodger inveigled himself precisely where Hamilton was not expecting him. It was the overtake of the afternoon.
Hamilton is clearly much improved from last year, with three podiums in succession, but his attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle for a second successive occasion was not helped by his Ferrari team’s curious decision to bring him in for a seemingly pointless tyre change – one more than all of the top seven finishers – during a virtual safety car period brought about by Carlos Sainz’s Williams conking out on him.
Hamilton fell from third to finish fifth, a place behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and is now 46 points off Antonelli.
Ferrari will be Ferrari. Grazie mille.
As for Russell, his winning margin was 1.6sec. ‘Yabba-dabba-doo!’ he exclaimed, a lot of relief bursting from Mercedes’ Fred Flintstone, before receiving his winner’s medal from Bernie Ecclestone, who patted him on his cheeks. He then guzzled the Moet & Chandon like the Great Gatsby.
