Race of the comebackers: After a dry spell, Russell wins the Austrian GP ahead of Verstappen – Sport

Keeping a cool head is so easy to say when the asphalt is hotter than 50 degrees, the cockpit heats up to over 60 degrees, and the pump system for the drinking bottle fails early. Rarely has George Russell felt so strongly about this cool down room of Formula 1, like this Sunday in Spielberg. The seating area behind the podium is usually used to calm people down, but at the Austrian Grand Prix the air conditioning was the real incentive.

The winner in the Silver Arrow appeared just as worn out as Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who crossed the finish line a second and a half behind Russell. The Brit and the Dutch don’t particularly like each other, but in Spielberg it’s not just sweat and a strong, flawless performance that unites them – for both of them, getting onto the podium at the eighth World Championship round was also a mental satisfaction: Russell, in the shadow behind the rising star Kimi Antonelli, who came third this time. Verstappen, in the first third of the season fighting with the new hybrid rules, his car and also a bit with himself, whether he still enjoys this premier class.

A comeback race at the right time, which brings new trump cards to the title quartet after the performances of the disappointing and disappointed Lewis Hamilton this time. Heat and tires will remain the theme of the European racing summer, probably also at the weekend in Silverstone – but also the mental strength of the racing drivers. They all live with the uncertainties of technology, but coming to terms with their own damaged psyche is a different story.

Before George Russell, who had been out of step since his win at the start of the season, had clinched pole position with a clever maneuver in the chaotic final phase of qualifying, the voice of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff could be heard advising his protégé over the pit radio: “George, just drive.” After the 28-year-old’s parade drive, the Austrian explained what was behind the supposedly banal message: “The competitive environment in Formula 1 is extremely stressful, someone has a young, strong teammate, suffers from technical failures, he falls behind. A top athlete can easily go into a downward spiral. Not even one of negativity, but rather into a spiral in which he thinks way too much. Sometimes you forget the most important thing – namely just closing the car drive.”

“When it clicks, you fly away from everyone”: winner George Russell explains his recipe for success

Russell, who is now back in second place in the Drivers’ World Championship by 40 points behind Antonelli, admits the big mental challenge: “It’s been a tough few months in which I thought everything was going against me. It’s a huge psychological challenge for you. That’s why the last two races were very important because they showed me what I’m capable of.” The example of his former teammate Hamilton, who had to wait a year and a half for his first victory with Ferrari, made it clear to him what distinguishes a happy and an unhappy Formula 1 driver: “You don’t forget racing overnight. You need the right team, the right set-up, everything has to be right. When it clicks, you fly away from everyone.”

The four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who has been struggling with a bitchy Red Bull racing car for weeks, is also relying on this click factor, which is why he even threatened to lose interest in Formula 1 altogether. As is the Dutchman’s way, he compensates for this frustration with aggressiveness. So he drove his racing team to a complete aerodynamic overhaul of his car, which brought initial results at the group team’s home race. “For the first time I felt able to fight for victory on my own,” said the 28-year-old. If his pit stop had been scheduled a little earlier, and the redesigned rear had enabled full power for longer than just half the distance, then he would actually have had a realistic chance of success.

Over the entire race, Verstappen, coming from fifth place on the grid, was the fastest man. That explains why team boss Laurent Mekies and his driver were a bit disappointed in the end, despite their joy at the best result of the season so far. If there is more in it, you want more. “But we are back in the race. This weekend was a big step forward,” says Mekies, who could be seen in the shadows of the pit lane in intensive dialogue with Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff.

Red Bull Racing would do well to keep its star driver happy. Although his contract runs until the end of 2028, it is linked to the performance of the car. With a corresponding exit clause, it is rumored in the paddock that Max Verstappen could leave the team – just as his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will do, who is moving to McLaren at the end of 2027. Any short-term success therefore influences the long-term perspective of both the driver and the racing team. The pressure from all sides on all protagonists will not diminish in a racing year that is one of the most unpredictable and exciting in a long time. Neither for Russell nor for Verstappen.