George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to trim Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli’s Formula One lead to 40 points.
Max Verstappen finished 1.6 seconds adrift after crashing in qualifying and starting fifth at his Red Bull team’s home circuit, with Antonelli third and 0.3 behind after a thrilling chase to the line.
The win was Russell’s second of the season, after he took the opener in Australia, and Mercedes’ seventh in eight rounds so far.
Antonelli has 171 points to Russell’s 131 with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, fifth on Sunday after running second and battling Verstappen wheel-to-wheel, on 125.
• Trackhouse Racing’s Ai Ogura claimed a Dutch MotoGP victory at Assen on Sunday, passing teammate Raul Fernandez late on to secure his first MotoGP win and the first by a Japanese rider in 22 years, while Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi crashed out early, losing his lead in the championship race.
Fernandez completed a landmark day for the American outfit by finishing second, 2.004 seconds behind, sealing Trackhouse’s first 1-2 in a grand prix a day after they locked out the top two in the sprint.
Pole-sitter Jorge Martin led for much of the race but was overhauled by both Trackhouse riders in the closing laps and finished third, completing an all-Aprilia podium.
The result lifted Martin above Bezzecchi to the top of the championship standings.
Marc Marquez came under pressure from Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia and KTM’s Pedro Acosta in the fight for fourth before Acosta retired with a problem in his right hand on lap 13.
Bagnaia hit trouble a lap later, and Marquez slipped behind VR46 Racing Team’s Fabio Di Giannantonio and his brother Alex Marquez, eventually coming home sixth.
SA’s Brad Binder finished ninth for KTM.
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Reuters
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