There was further alumni success at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, as graduates from the UK's top single-seater category claimed wins in Formula One, F2 and F3 at the Red Bull Ring.
2014 BRDC F4 champion George Russell claimed his second Grand Prix victory, Oliver Bearman won his first F2 contest of 2024, while 2022 GB3 champion Luke Browning earned another FIA F3 win to put him top of the standings.
Russell qualified third in his Mercedes AMG Petronas machine, and ran there for the majority of the contest, with both his and the team’s form continuing to improve across recent weeks.
However when the battle for the lead between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris, a multiple winner in the 2026 BRDC British F3 Championship, reached boiling point, Russell’s chances grew.
After several scraps, the lead duo collided on lap 64, picking up punctures and allowing Russell, who had only been a dozen seconds in arrears, to take the race lead.
He duly brought his car home to add another win to his Brazilian Grand Prix triumph in 2022, finishing ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with the British Grand Prix next up this weekend.
Browning meanwhile took his second F3 win of the year to take the lead in this year’s standings. The British driver took pole position in qualifying and he made a strong start to lead the field on the first lap.
With some intense action behind him, Browning was able to maintain his lead for the entirety of the 26 lap contest, and is now 11 points clear at the top of the standings.
GB3 race winner Christian Mansell enjoyed another strong F3 weekend with third and fourth place finishes across the two races, putting him fifth in the standings, while last year’s runner-up Alex Dunne was fourth in the Sprint Race and 10th in the Feature as he continues to move up the order.
Mansell’s fellow GB3 race winner Oliver Bearman took his first FIA F2 victory of the year in Saturday’s Sprint Race, while Kush Maini and Zak O’Sullivan were in the points once more.
Drivers in all three series will resume battle at Silverstone, a venue they all know like the back of their hand thanks to their time in GB3 and its predecessors.