Mercedes driver Russell wins Formula 1's Austrian GP after Verstappen, Norris clash at front

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — George Russell clinched Mercedes' first win of the season at Formula 1's Austrian GP after taking advantage of a late clash between McLaren driver Lando Norris and championship leader Max Verstappen in a Red Bull on Sunday.

It was Russell's second GP win.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri was second, ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr.

Norris was trying to take the lead from Verstappen with just seven laps remaining. The incident left Norris' car unable to continue, and Verstappen was given a 10-second time penalty.

Verstappen and Norris had been caught up in a fight for top spot, with the British driver accusing his rival of “dangerous” driving.

On Lap 64, Norris crashed into Verstappen’s Red Bull as he attempted a move for the lead with both cars suffering significant damage. After Norris had gone to the outside, Verstappen's maneuver saw the front right of the McLaren collide with the rear left of the Red Bull, leaving both drivers with a puncture.

Verstappen and Norris limped back to the pits with the former able to continue after stopping for repairs. However, Norris was forced to retire.

The remarkable flashpoint provided Russell, who was sitting in third place, 15 seconds back, to assume the lead. And the British driver was able to take advantage to win for the first time since the Brazilian GP in November 2022.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, with Verstappen fifth.

Verstappen had dominated the weekend, following up his victory in the sprint race with another dominant performance in qualifying to take pole position.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain gets a pit service during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna, Pool)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna, Pool)

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner watches during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna, Pool)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, front, steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna, Pool)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain gets a pit service during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna, Pool)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain celebrates after winning the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain celebrates with his team members after winning the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Four years after violence erupted during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, a jury ordered white nationalist leaders and organizations to pay a total of more than $26 million in damages to people with physical or emotional injuries from the event.

Most of that money — $24 million — was for punitive damages, but a judge later slashed that amount to $350,000 — to be shared by eight plaintiffs. On Monday, a federal appeals court restored more than $2 million in punitive damages, finding that each of the plaintiffs should receive $350,000, instead of the $43,750 each would have received under the lower court’s ruling.

A three-judge panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the jury's award of $2 million in compensatory damages, but found that a state law that imposes the $350,000 cap on punitive damages should be applied per person instead of for all eight plaintiffs, as a lower court judge ruled.

The ruling stems from a federal lawsuit against two dozen white nationalists and organizations that participated in two days of demonstrations in Charlottesville to protest the city's plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

On the second day, after the “Unite the Right” rally had been declared an unlawful assembly, James Alex Fields Jr., a white supremacist from Maumee, Ohio, intentionally drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring dozens more. Fields, who was one of the defendants in the civil case, is now serving a life sentence for murder and hate crimes.

The 4th Circuit panel rejected a request from the defendants that the court ask the Supreme Court of Virginia to rule on the question of whether each plaintiff can receive $350,000 in punitive damages, saying in its ruling that it found the state law's language and history “clear enough to predict how Virginia's high court would rule.”

“Over two years ago, the jury used its $24 million punitive damages award to send an unmistakable message to the defendants and to the public about the outrageous misconduct that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. While the law compels us to reduce the award, it’s long past time for that message to be delivered,” Chief Judge Albert Diaz wrote in the 3-0 ruling.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they were pleased by the court's ruling.

“Today's decision restores over $2 million in punitive damages from the jury's verdict, which sent a clear message against racist and antisemitic hate and violence,” attorneys Roberta Kaplan, David E. Mills and Gabrielle E. Tenzer said in a statement.

Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The verdict from the 2021 trial was a rebuke to the white nationalist movement, particularly for the two dozen individuals and organizations accused in a federal lawsuit of orchestrating violence against African Americans, Jewish people and others in a meticulously planned conspiracy.

FILE - White nationalist demonstrators walk into the entrance of Lee Park surrounded by counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. A jury Monday, July 1, 2024, awarded ordered white nationalist leaders and organizations to pay a total of more than $26 million in damages to people who had suffered physical or emotional injuries during the event. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)