Russell holds nerve to seal victory in Austria

Russell holds nerve to seal victory in Austria Image source, EPAImage caption, George Russell has returned to second place in the drivers' championship with victory in SpielbergByAndrew BensonF1 CorrespondentPublished26 minutes ago39 CommentsMercedes' George Russell held on to win a tense battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen for victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.The final laps of the race saw Russell in the lead being slowly caught by Verstappen while the Briton's team-mate Kimi Antonelli chased the Dutchman.Russell took his first win since the opening race of the season in Australia to reclaim second place in the championship and cut the gap to Antonelli to 40 points.Antonelli caught Verstappen on the last lap but the four-time world champion held on to take his best result of the year so far.Verstappen's impressive second place underlined a step forward in form after Red Bull introduced a major upgrade to their car for their home race.McLaren's Oscar Piastri took a solid fourth while Lewis Hamilton, who battled with Verstappen for second in the first third of the race, dropped back to fifth on the back of a confusing strategy from Ferrari.The key stories of an involving grand prix were:Russell's overdue return to the top step of the podium after an impressive weekend's workRed Bull's revival despite Verstappen's crash in qualifyingFerrari fading after showing early promiseRussell, so impressive in a number of different ways as he took pole position on Saturday, held on to the lead at the start and initially appeared to be in control of the race as he built an advantage over Hamilton.The seven-time champion spent the first part of the race trying to hold back Verstappen, and after a frantic wheel to wheel battle through Turns Four, Five, Six and Seven on lap 11, Hamilton blinked first and stopped for fresh tyres on the following lap.It was early - and it sealed Hamilton's fate as a contender at the start of t...