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Start Austrian GP | Verstappen good, Russell ruins race for Perez

10 July 2022 at 14:37
Last update 10 July 2022 at 15:44
  • GPblog.com

The Austrian Grand Prix kicked off on a Red Bull Ring shrouded in orange mist. Max Verstappen got away well and maintained his lead, but behind him drama unfolded for teammate Sergio Perez.

Perez in trouble after contact with Russell

Perez got away to a good start and quickly closed in on George Russell, trying to take fourth place. Russell didn't like this and defended his position hard, resulting in a collision. In an attempt to overtake on the outside, Russell hit Perez's RB18, which spun off the track.

The Mexican then came in for a pit stop and dropped to last place. Shortly afterwards he was also told by his team that there was damage to the floor of his RB18, so he had to continue the race with a considerably slower car. Meanwhile, the stewards ruled that Russell was responsible for the incident and penalised him with a five-second penalty.