F1 Austria GP Live: George Russell fends off fierce Verstappen to win; Piastri misses out on podium

It only took three laps for the Austrian Grand Prix to descend into chaos.

The first warning came from Cadillac’s driver Valtteri Bottas who calmly told his team his brakes were on fire.

Moments later, a snippet from Kiwi Liam Lawson’s radio revealed a similar predicament.

“On fire, I’ve got fire in my car,” he said.

As he completed a victory lap after winning the Austrian GP, George Russell revealed his drinks system had failed during the race.

He didn’t tell his bosses when it went down, just that he was ready for a drink.

“Drink system failed so I’m a little bit thirsty,” Russell told his team over the radio.

“We will have a drink for you on the podium,” his team replied on the radio, referring to the champagne for the winners.

Mercedes driver George Russell has converted pole position to victory, battling extreme heat and scorching track temperatures to win the Austrian Grand Prix.

“Whoooo,yabadabadoo, good team result, well done everybody,” Russell exclaimed over the radio.

A resurgent Max Verstappen finished second and despite a late-charge from championship leader Kimi Antonelli, he was unable to catch the Dutchman.

It’s the final lap and Kimi Antonelli is definitely not looking after his tyres.

He’s hunting Verstappen and is within touching distance.

We’ve got six laps to go and the margin between Russell and Verstappen is around four seconds.

Verstappen is a born hunter, but he has likely run out of time to catch the Mercedes driver.

Meanwhile, It looks like Kimi Antonelli will complete the podium in third place. Despite some extraordinary efforts, Piastri is unlikely to catch the Italian and will have to settle for fourth.

A flying George Russell leads the race, with a five-second gap over Max Verstappen.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli is in third and Oscar Piastri has fought his way top fourth.

Piastri is around four seconds behind Kimi Antonelli and time is running out to catch the Italian.

His teammate Lando Norris is languishing in seventh.

Meanwhile, a frustrated Charles Leclerc has told his engineers his tyres are cooked (he used a different word, starting with f).

Ah, the weather gods are funny.

After days of stifling temperatures and scorching heat, there is now looming rain on the forecast.

We’ve got 16 laps to go.

We’ve got another quick safety car as marshalls rush to collect debris lying on the track.

It looks like it’s one of the bollards from the track.

Racing quickly resumes on Lap 53/71.

George Russell is still in the lead, with Verstappen in second.

Max Verstappen has quickly pitted for hard tyres and exited, resuming his hunt for George Russell.

Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri is sitting in fourth and will need to catch Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen.

His only problem?

He Has Lewis Hamilton behind him.