George Russell overcame a stiff challenge from Max Verstappen to end a long wait for victory by winning the Austrian Grand Prix.Russell infused fresh life into his world championship bid having seemingly lost his way in a disrupted season.Russell headed into the eighth round of the campaign at the Red Bull Ring without a win since the opening fixture of the season in Melbourne on March 8.But the British driver delivered an impressive performance from pole position in the sun-drenched Styrian Mountains to cross the line 1.6 seconds clear of Verstappen.Russell reduced Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli's Formula One lead to 40 points. Verstappen finished 1.6 seconds adrift, after crashing in qualifying and ⁠starting fifth, at his Red Bull team's home circuit with Antonelli third ​and ⁠0.3s behind after a thrilling ‌chase to the line at Spielberg.The win was Russell's second of the ​season, his career's seventh and Mercedes' seventh in eight rounds so far.Antonelli has 171 points to Russell's 131 with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, fifth on Sunday after running second and battling Verstappen wheel-to-wheel, dropping to third on 125.In the constructors' standings, Mercedes have 302 points to Ferrari's 204.“Incredible to be back on the top step. It's been a little while, so I am definitely going to enjoy this one this evening,” said Russell, who will head to his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend on a high. He revealed over the radio after taking the chequered ​flag that his drinks system had failed during ‌the race, the first of ⁠the season to be declared a “heat ​hazard”. “Nice race for it to do so, I'm a little bit ​thirsty,” he ‌said.Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, ahead of Hamilton, with Isack Hadjar sixth for ⁠Red Bull.Reigning champion Lando Norris, last year's winner in Austria, was seventh ⁠with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc eighth and Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad completing the top 10.“I was having to push every single lap and when you push those boundaries there's bound to be a ​small mistake or two,” said Russell.“I knew how quick the guys were behind. Kimi has been extraordinarily quick this whole season, so every lap I was looking at the timing board.”In a tense race, Verstappen began to reel in Russell and by the start of lap 40, the Dutchman was just over a second behind.But Mercedes moved quickly, bringing Russell in for a second time, and when Verstappen stopped for tyres six laps later, he was 11 seconds behind. Although Verstappen gained almost 10 seconds in 22 laps, he failed to face a significant challenge as Russell took the chequered flag.Despite a commendable finish, Antonelli said he could have handled the race better.“I was a bit too excited in the first laps and I didn’t drive well and made too many mistakes. The pace at the end was very strong so it was a shame I joined the party a little bit late,” Antonelli said.