Russell records his second Grand Prix win, Piastri records McLaren’s best result in Austria since 2003 and Norris fails to score a point at the Red Bull Ring for the first time. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
RUSSELL WINS THE 2024 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
George Russell took an unexpected victory in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix as long-time race leaders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided. This was the second victory of Russell’s career – his first since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
This was Russell’s first top three finish at the Red Bull Ring, having recorded a previous best result of fourth place in 2022.
Russell led only eight laps on his way to victory in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. It was the fewest laps led by a race winner since Max Verstappen led six laps on his way to winning the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
This was the first time that the race winner was not the driver who led the most laps since the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Russell’s win ended a win-less streak for Mercedes of 1 year, 7 months and 17 days – their second longest win-less streak in Formula 1. It was some 55 years short of beating their previous longest win-less streak of 56 years, 7 months and 4 days between victories at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix and the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.
Mercedes became the first team to record seven races at the venue now known as the Red Bull Ring, surpassing McLaren’s former record. This was the tenth race won by a Mercedes-powered car in Spielberg. That saw Mercedes overtake Ford Cosworth’s former record.
This was Mercedes’ first win at the Red Bull Ring since the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ win makes 2024 the first season since 2021 in which four different teams have secured a Grand Prix victory.
The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix is the first time since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix that Mercedes have scored the most points of any team over a Grand Prix weekend.
This was the seventh victory for a British driver at the track now known as the Red Bull Ring, extending the nation’s record for the most victories at the track.
Russell’s win makes this the 15th season in which Formula 1 heads to Silverstone with a British driver having won the previous round. On all but four of those previous occasions, a British driver has also won the Silverstone race.
Russell’s win was the first taken from third on the grid at the Red Bull Ring since the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix.
ON THE PODIUM
Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz joined George Russell on the podium at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. All three drivers recorded their first podium finish at the Red Bull Ring.
This was the third Formula 1 race – after the 2011 German Grand Prix and the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix – at which British, Australian and Spanish drivers finished on the podium together.
With second place, Oscar Piastri equalled the best Grand Prix result of his career to date. He also finished as runner-up at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix and the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.
Piastri had never previously scored a point in a Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, having finished only 16th last year.
Piastri’s second place finish was McLaren’s first top two result in Austria since 2003, when Kimi Raikkonen finished as runner-up.
Piastri recorded the first podium finish from seventh on the grid since Lewis Hamilton finished third at the 2023 British Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz recorded his fifth podium finish – and fourth third place finish – of the 2024 season.
This was Sainz’s first top four finish at the Red Bull Ring.
Sainz’s podium marked the first time that the driver starting fourth scored a top three finish at the Red Bull Ring since 2018, when Max Verstappen won the race having started there.
Sainz is the first Spanish driver to finish on the podium in Austria in Formula 1’s history.
This was the tenth time in Formula 1 history that the drivers starting 3rd, 4th and 7th finished on the podium together. It was the first time it has happened since the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix – which incidentally is the only other time that the driver starting third has won with the drivers starting 7th and 4th finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix was the first time since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix that neither of the front row starters finished on the podium.
IN THE POINTS
With fourth place in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix – and sixth in Saturday’s Sprint, this was the 300th points-scoring race weekend of Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 career. It was not his 300th points-scoring Grand Prix, however, as he only scored points in the Sprint event at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished in the top four for a third consecutive race. It’s the first time he’s recorded four successive top four finishes since the 2023 British, Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix.
Finishing fifth in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen lost four positions from where he started. It’s the first time Verstappen has lost as many as four places in a race which he has finished since losing five positions in the 2022 British Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez finished seventh at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. His fourth place in Miami remains the last time he finished in the top six positions.
With Verstappen fifth and Perez seventh, this was the first time since the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix – in which both Red Bull drivers retired – that neither Red Bull driver finished on the podium at the Red Bull Ring.
For the first time since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, both Haas drivers finished in the top eight positions.
Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, recording his first top six finish since finishing fifth at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix.
This was the first time Hulkenberg scored a point at the Austrian Grand Prix since 2015, when he also finished sixth.
Magnussen’s eighth place finish marked his first top eight result since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, where he also finished eighth.
Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, scoring points for the second time this season – and for the second time in the last three Grands Prix.
Finishing tenth, Pierre Gasly scored a point for the fourth consecutive race. This is Gasly’s longest scoring streak since the six races between the 2021 Emilia Romagna and French Grands Prix.
Gasly’s point made this the seventh consecutive Austrian race in which the Enstone-based team scored a point.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Charles Leclerc finished 11th in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, finishing outside of the points in a race which he has completed for the first time since he finished 11th in the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.
Leclerc became the first Ferrari driver to finish a race at the Red Bull Ring but not score a point since 1999, when Mika Salo finished ninth.
This was the first time since the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix that Leclerc failed to score a point at the Red Bull Ring.
Along with Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas extended the record for most Grand Prix finishes at the Red Bull Ring to 12 with his 16th place at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
With Bottas 16th and Zhou 17th, this was the sixth consecutive Austrian race in which the Sauber team failed to score a point.
For the first time in his Formula 1 career, Fernando Alonso finished 18th in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. Alonso has now recorded at least one finish in positions 1 to 19 at some point during his career.
This was the first time since his 2018 DNF that Alonso failed to score a point at the Red Bull Ring.
Fernando Alonso recorded the fastest lap at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. It was his second fastest lap of the season. It makes 2024 the first season since 2013 in which Alonso has recorded multiple fastest laps.
NORRIS RECORDS FIRST DNF OF 2024
As a result of his collision with Max Verstappen, Lando Norris failed to finish the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. The closing laps of the race were the first Grand Prix laps in 2024 which a McLaren driver failed to complete.
This was Norris’ first DNF since the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix – though he did fail to finish the Sprint at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.
This was the first time in his eight appearances at the Red Bull Ring that Norris failed to score a point. Norris had never previously finished outside of the top seven here.
Norris’ retirement brought an end to an 11 race scoring streak for the British driver. It means that Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell now share the longest active scoring streaks, having scored in all of the last eight Grands Prix.
