The British star was third until the collision between the leading pair catapulted him to the front of the order, where he held off Oscar Piastri to take just his second victory in Formula 1.
The top two made contact on lap 64 after what had been a memorable battle for first position, an incident which forced Norris to retire and Verstappen to drop down the field before finishing P5.
Russell's team-mate Lewis Hamilton finished just outside the top three as the gap between the two in the drivers' standings increased to 26 points.
George Russell secured his second F1 career victory in AustriaA collision between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen allowed Russell to steal the win
Russell 'almost crashed' in Austria
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was ecstatic after seeing Russell take control of proceedings, but an emotional outburst from the Austrian caught the former Williams racer by surprise.
Speaking over the team radio, Wolff exclaimed: "George, you can win this! You can win this George!"
Russell, however, was far from impressed with the interruption as he looked to regain focus after a chaotic few moments, instructing his boss to 'just let me f****** drive'.
Toto Wolff allowed emotions to get the better of him on team radio
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Russell admitted he came close to losing control of his car.
"He just screamed in my ear," the 26-year-old said. "I almost crashed when it happened!
"It goes to show the passion that we all have. The team put so much effort in recently.
"Everyone in the factory has been working overtime to bring upgrades to the car earlier. Sometimes you don't feel like you get a reward for this effort, and today we did."
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