• Pair clashed while vying for lead, forcing Norris out
• Verstappen dropped to fifth as George Russell wins

McLaren’s Lando Norris has condemned Max Verstappen’s driving as desperate and reckless after the pair clashed while vying for the lead at the Austrian Grand Prix, knocking Norris out of the race and leaving Verstappen able to claim only fifth. George Russell took advantage of the collision to triumph for Mercedes at the Red Bull Ring.

The pair had been competing hard against one another and on lap 64 of the 71-lap race, the third time Norris had tried to pass, they hit one another as the 24-year-old British driver attempted to go round the outside of turn three and both suffered punctures.

• Verstappen and Norris clash to gift win to Mercedes
• Piastri second; Sainz third; Hamilton fourth

For a long time great friends, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen found their relationship severely tested, a bromance gone bad in the simmering heat of the Styrian mountains at the Austrian Grand Prix, a reminder of how when the visor comes down winning is all and sometimes that comes at a cost.

The record books will show that this race was won by George ­Russell in a Mercedes, with Oscar Piastri second for McLaren and ­Carlos Sainz third for Ferrari. It is ­Russell’s second F1 victory and the first for his team since the 26‑year‑old from King’s Lynn took the flag in Brazil in 2022. Aware of the gift horse adage after a 33-race wait, both Russell and Mercedes relished what was an entirely unexpected victory.

• Red Bull driver ‘understands’ dad’s ire over parade snub
• Verstappen on pole for GP and also wins sprint race

Red Bull’s hopes for a celebratory home Grand Prix in Austria were left in no little disarray despite great success on Saturday, after Max Verstappen weighed in to defend his father, Jos, in his ongoing row with Christian Horner.

Verstappen described the situation as far from ideal for himself or for the team. His comments overshadowed an impressive victory in the sprint race and in taking an absolutely dominant pole in qualifying. On Friday, Jos Verstappen accused Horner of being childish in claiming the team principal had vetoed him driving the 2012 Red Bull in the legends parade at the Red Bull Ring this weekend. Verstappen Sr was furious, saying he was “completely fed up” with Horner.

• Lando Norris second and Oscar Piastri third
• Horner tries to cool row with Verstappen’s father Jos

Max Verstappen opened the Austrian Grand Prix weekend in confident form once more, claiming pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the Red Bull Ring. The Red Bull driver was commanding in Spielberg, beating the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri into second and third. Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth and Lewis Hamilton was sixth.

In the truncated sprint qualifying, just one lap in Q3 for each driver was to be decisive, with Verstappen having been quickest in the opening two sessions. Hamilton and Russell led the field out as the clock ticked down, with Russell setting the pace but he was edged out by Norris, before Verstappen once more closed it out with no little control in a time of 1min 04.686sec almost a tenth up on Russell, to claim the Dutchman’s eighth sprint pole.

• World champion had been linked with F1 rivals
• ‘We’re already also working on next year’s car’

Max Verstappen has scotched ­conjecture that he would be leaving Red Bull next season by definitively stating he would be with the team in 2025, despite repeated rumours that he is considering a move to Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton is set to leave Mercedes at the end of this season to join Ferrari and his current team have been open about their desire to persuade Verstappen, now a three-time world champion, to join them, despite the Dutchman being ­contracted to Red Bull until 2028. The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has said he would want to bring the best driver to the team and made no secret of his admiration of Verstappen, who has won seven out of 10 races this season.