Right, we have heard from the protagonists. Now it’s time to hear from Giles Richards, our sweltering F1 correspondent at the Red Bull Ring. Thank you for your company, see you on Saturday for the sprint race and qualifying at Silverstone.

“Starting positions do matter.” Would Verstappen have won without yesterday’s qualifying crash?

Laurent Mekies now. “The first time we have enough pace to win,” he says. “We know we will need more as the competition will bring updates.”

Reliability was pleasing, Wolff says. He says Ferrari didn’t look as good as Barcelona but he’s not sure why. He is off to Oxford tonight to get ready for Silverstone.

“You can’t accelerate a donkey but you can calm down a race horse.”

Drivers are not good at thinking, leave that to the pit guys, “just drive … Less thinking is better.”

Here’s Toto Wolff on Russell: “Since Q3 yesterday, perfect execution … He knows that he can drive fast and sometimes you have to add one and one.”

A second shock resignation of the day, after Steve Clarke kept me up to 3am.

Provided my maths is right, what does it do to the championship?

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 171pts
2 George Russell Mercedes 131
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 125
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren 80
5 Lando Norris McLaren 79
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 79
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull 73
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 42
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 41
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 29

Elsewhere, Ben Stokes is retiring from international cricket.

Out they come. Here comes the national anthems. First the British, then the German.

Bernie Ecclestone is at the presentation.

Thirsty work indeed: Russell’s and Antonelli’s drinks systems both failed.

Russell says that at one point he was monitoring who was behind him: “Ham-Ver, Ham-Ver, Ham-Ver.”

“Race pace was better for sure than we have seen so far,” says Verstappen. Music to Red Bull ears in their battle to keep their prize asset.

It’s podium time. The fans (many in Dutch orange) are on the track.

Russell again: “The last two weekends have been vitally important to remind myself I can do it. [This track] is not very suited to my style so I am looking forward to Silverstone.”

Antonelli speaks: “I was a bit too excited … lost three or four seconds with mistakes … It was a shame I joined the party too late … Three-four laps would have been more fun.”

Verstappen happy: “It was a very good race for us. The first few laps were quite fun … We then picked up a few issues. But to be second and that close to a win is very positive.”

Russell continues: “I was having to push every single lap … the team timed the stops to perfection.”

David Coulthard on interview duty. “Incredible to be back on the top step … Max and Red Bull had a great weekend … Looking forward to a drink now.”

That was a fine race. Very little – no? – talk about the regulations, which will please the FIA. Ferrari will be disappointed at their fall-off in the race.

Russell leaps to embrace the Mercedes mechanics.

“I’m a little bit thirsty,” says our winner. Russell overtakes Hamilton in the standings, which should help too.

Toto Wolff congratulates Russell on his win. Verstappen was driver of the day but couldn’t quite get there.

Lap 71/71: Antonelli right up on Verstappen!

Lap 71/71: It’s less than a second. Russell may now be hoping (privately) that Verstappen keeps it together.

Lap 69/71: Antonelli can see Verstappen tantalisingly close. Anthony Davidson says Red Bull are now talking solely about second to third, not the lead.

Lap 68/71: Antonelli 1.9 behind Verstappen, a lot closer to him than the Dutchman to Russell.

Lap 67/71: Alonso in 18th in danger of being lapped by Albon in 17th … What a weekend for Aston Martin. Stroll out with a recovery system failure.

Lap 66/71: The lead is less than 4sec but Karun Chandhok believes it’s a managed decline with backmarkers causing it in part.

Lap 64/71: Russell leads by 4.6sec still. Antonelli is 3.4 behind Verstappen.

Lap 63/71: Things have calmed down generally. Rain would shake it all up for sure.

Lap 61/71: George Russell’s odds are shortening as he is keeping Verstappen at a safe distance for now. He has not won a race since the opener in Australia.

Lap 59/71: Lando Norris passes Leclerc. From P2 to P8. Still, he has 46 sec on Lawson in P9.

Lap 58/71: Russell went wide and lost almost a second. He remains the favourite but you can hear the smile in Laurent Mekies’s voice as the Red Bull principal says Verstappen is running “an amazing race”.

Lap 56/71: Hamilton, in fifth, losing time to Piastri. Hadjar then takes Leclerc, and the Monegasque gets bleeped on a comment on his tyres.

Lap 54/71: Bernie Collins on the radar: it’s raining 10 miles away. That could be tricky.

Lap 53/71: Norris noted for a pitlane problem, released close to Colapinto.

Lap 52/71: VSC. A loose bollard.

Lap 51/71: Antonelli pits, so Russell has the lead from Verstappen. Antonelli comes out in third, 4.6sec behind Verstappen.

Lap 50/71: The live odds have shifted in Russell’s favour.

Lap 49/71: Verstappen pits. Antonelli in the lead, Russell up to second, Verstappen rejoins in third.

Lap 48/71: Piastri passes Leclerc. McLaren are doing well versus Ferrari there.

Lap 48/71: Norris in, no one-stop. Hamilton up to sixth.

Lap 47/71: Russell is strategising for the cars around him, Bernie Collins reckons, hoping Antonelli pits and brings in Verstappen. Could Antonelli keep going long enough to finish on softs?

Lap 46/71: Norris told to keep driving. Could he manage a one-stop with sufficient pace.

Lap 45/71: So Verstappen leads from Antonelli, both with one stop, then Russell has had two, Norris one, Leclerc and Piastri two, Hamilton three.

Lap 44/71: Now Mercedes are coming out for Russell’s stop. 2.3sec. Red Bull pull a stop for Verstappen.

Lap 43/71: Piastri and Ferrari pit! No change in order.

Lap 42/71: Alonso has a 5sec penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He is running 19th, the last man on the track.

Lap 41/71: Antonelli is closer to Verstappen but not closing at the rate the Dutchman is on Russell.

Lap 40/71: Russell locked up at the hairpin and lost a lot of time, hence Verstappen closing. For what it’s worth, the live betting odds make the Red Bull favourite.

Lap 37/71: Piastri bangs tyres with Leclerc, goes past, Hamilton then overtakes his teammate. The Monegasque started on the front row and is now in the pits. He lost a bit of his front wing.

37/71: Russell seems to have erred and Verstappen can now see him. 2.4sec between them now.

Lap 36/71: Can Antonelli help Russell by putting pressure on Verstappen? It’s not looking that way, with 8sec between second and third.

Lap 35/71: Hamilton back in race mode after his battery cools, takes half a second out of Piastri.

Lap 34/71: The talk is of Verstappen having more tyre choices than Russell and so a potential edge. What a win it would be at Red Bull’s home circuit.

Lap 33/71: Ferrari worried about Hamilton’s temperature. He’s not happy with the instruction as he is already short on power.

Lap 32/71: Hadjar has been by far Verstappen’s fastest teammate in a long time but you can see the difference in how Hamilton could take the Frenchman while the Dutchman overtook the Briton.

Lap 30/71: Antonelli easily passes Leclerc and Hamilton gets past Hadjar.

Lap 30/71: Leclerc defending from Antonelli. How long can he hold him off?

Lap 28/71: The VSC is over and Russell has 4.9 sec on Verstappen. Leclerc third, Antonelli gaining from fourth. Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton, Norris, Lindblad and Lawson complete the top 10.

Lap 27/71: It gets worse for Antonelli, with break problems. He was on his way to the pits before Sainz stopped, so it was just misfortune and not a bad call.

Lap 26/71: No one else can come in as Sainz is pushed into the pitlane.

Lap 25.71: Ferrari bring in Hamilton and he returns in sixth. Good VSC use there.

Lap 24/71: Laurent Mekies, the Red Bull team principal, is pleased with progress but equivocal over whether they can challenge Russell. Antonelli comes in under yellows after Sainz stops on the main straight. But then the virtual safety car comes out and Antonelli loses a place to Leclerc.

Lap 23/71: Russell has 3.3sec on Verstappen. Hamilton was cleared, by the way, over the earlier incidents.

Lap 22/71: We are back to the Hamilton-Verstappen duel, the pair swap places then the Red Bull makes it stick.

Lap 22/71: Norris gets his way.

21/71: Norris told he is staying out for now but he’s not happy. He has no pace.

Lap 20/71: Russell has a 2.3sec pit stop and comes back out in third, behind Antonelli and Norris.

Lap 19/71: Hamilton made it past the pits OK and has a small lead over Verstappen.

Lap 19/71: Verstappen pits – 2.4 sec. Russell and Antonelli pass.

Lap 18/71: Hamilton checks on his speed and is told he’s faster than Leclerc. He is up to seventh in clean air.

Lap 17/71: George Russell, to David Croft “the tyre whisperer”, wonders about a one-stop.

Lap 16/71: The stewards note Hamilton for possibly forcing off Verstappen. Karun Chandhok reckons it was OK.

Lap 15/71: Verstappen going faster than he was, but not as fast as Hamilton on his fresh tyres. Decisions, decisions.

Lap 14/71: Leclerc in now. A three-stopper on the cards because of the toll on the tyres.

Lap 14/71: Ferrari tell Hamilton to put the foot down lest Verstappen comes in.

Lap 13/71: Hamilton pits and rejoins on hard tyres in 11th.

Lap 12/71: “That’s a penalty. Clear penalty,” claims Verstappen, who locked up at a crucial moment.

Lap 11/71: Verstappen takes second off Hamilton for a moment but the Ferrari gets the place back and then fantastic wheel-to-wheel action.

Lap 10/71: Hamilton wobbled but has just enough to hold Verstappen off for now.

Lap 9/71: The good news for George Russell is that David Croft and Karun Chandhok are not talking about him.

Lap 8/71: Hamilton has been off, has a time deleted and has Verstappen right on his tail.

Lap 7/71: Antonelli harasses Leclerc, he has to use his energy to defend, has nothing left at the end of the lap and is overtaken.

Lap 6/71: Perez joins Bottas in exiting. Both Cadillacs out.

Lap 5/71: Kimi Antonelli was investigated for going off and gaining time but has been cleared. He gave back the place the one time he did gain one.

Lap 5/71: Russell has 1.1 sec on Hamilton.

Lap 4/71: Lawson in heat trouble too. Claiming flames but nothing visible.

Lap 3/71: Russell got away very well. But Valtteri Bottas is on fire and in the pits.

Lap 2/71: And Verstappen passes Antonelli and Leclerc.

Lap 2/71: Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc. Antonelli goes third briefly but has to give it back as he went off to gain the place.

Lap 1/71: But Antonelli recovered to stay fourth,

Lap 1/71: Antonelli off! Hamilton past Leclerc!

Lights out!

I was wrong about 40C being the track temperature. That’s the air temperature. Track is 63C …

And we are off on the formation lap.

The hills are now alive to the sound of jet engines, as we get a fly past.

Please stand for the Austrian national anthem.

Zak Brown is collared next. And Ted Kravitz asks about the possibility of Max Verstappen replacing Piastri or Norris. Brown stresses he is very happy with both drivers, that they have contracts, and as far as he knows they are happy. But, he adds: “If someone slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub, Max is a four-time world champion.”

You cannot escape football. Fabian Hürzeler, Brighton’s Austrian manager, is grabbed by Ted Kravitz for a quick word. Perhaps “velocity”*.
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*Copyright Martin Buchan

After David Croft took a break for the last race, it’s Martin Brundle’s turn for a break. Ted Kravitz and Bernie Collins will have grid duties for Sky Sports.

Here are the constructors’ standings:

1 Mercedes 262pts
2 Ferrari 190
3 McLaren 141
4 Red Bull 89
5 Alpine 60
6 Racing Bulls 38
7 Haas 21
8 Williams 11
9 Audi 2
10 Aston Martin 1
11 Cadillac 0

It’s almost 40C at trackside. They could do with a bit more altitude, I imagine.

Here are the drivers’ standings after Antonelli’s 16th (technically not a DNF as he finished 90% of the race) at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP allowed Hamilton and Russell to eat into their deficits by 25 and 18 points respectively:

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 156pts
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 115
3 George Russell Mercedes 106
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 75
5 Lando Norris McLaren 73
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 68
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull 55
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine 41
9 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 34
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 26

What did the main players in yesterday’s late drama have to say about it?

“I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner … it ​was a single yellow and should ‌be OK,” said Russell, ‌who continued Mercedes’s streak of securing pole position for the eighth race in a row.

Antonelli took fourth place on Sunday’s grid after aborting his final lap following Verstappen’s crash. “I don’t know why but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely … I shouldn’t have done that. That was my mistake,” the 19-year-old Italian, who has won five of the seven races so far, ‌told Sky Sports.

“It’s a shame as realistically we could have been [third],” Verstappen said. “There are still ⁠some things we want to understand from the package, some that worked ​well and some not ​so well, and work from ​there.” Reuters

Without the Verstappen crash, we might well have an all-Mercedes front row again; a sheepish Antonelli conceded that Russell’s figures were superior but believed he was on track to take second before aborting the lap. Ferrari, with their latest upgrades, were tipped to do well but maybe a bit better was expected. What happened? Perhaps their improvement vanished literally into thin air: Spielberg is 660m above sea level.

Hamilton addressed the issue:

“I think this weekend we’ve not been confident that we could fight for a win. We knew coming into this weekend it would be tough with the long straights we’ve got here, and the deficit looked bigger than other circuits that we’ve been at. Maybe it’s altitude, I’m not sure.” AP

For comparison, next week’s race at Silverstone is 153m, Barcelona was about 130m, and Monaco might as well be under water.