Red Bull's Austria GP unraveling raises fresh questions

New York Times

2 days ago

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA — The Austrian Grand Prix slipped through Red Bull's fingertips, its Sunday going from bad to worse despite bringing a minor upgrade to Max Verstappen's car.
This wasn't just any race for the team. At the center of the track, nestled in the Styrian mountains, stands a massive bull with gold horns jumping through an arch — a physical reminder of the circuit's name: Red Bull Ring. Back in 2004, the late co-founder of the energy drink company, Dietrich Mateschitz, bought what was the A1 Ring and revamped the location, bringing Formula One back to Spielberg in 2014.
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Red Bull has dominated this track in recent years. Verstappen has won five times at Red Bull Ring and has four pole positions, both of which are records at the track.
Red Bull Racing is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Austria is home.
And Sunday's race, where Verstappen didn't complete a full racing lap and Yuki Tsunoda finished two laps down, was 'a home race to forget,' team principal Christian Horner said, after the team ended the day point-less.
Verstappen didn't make it past Turn 3 before his grand prix ended, at no fault of his own. And the stewards appeared to agree.
The Dutchman entered the race knowing a podium finish would be hard to achieve from seventh on the grid. He was unable to set a final flying lap in qualifying after Pierre Gasly spun, triggering yellow flags and keeping Verstappen from being able to improve his Q3 time.
Then came Kimi Antonelli.
The Mercedes rookie started ninth and darted out from behind Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson as the grid headed towards Turn 3. It was a move to avoid a collision, Antonelli told the stewards, and he 'released the brakes for a short period of time to do so.' But he ended up on the inside line, which had less grip, making it difficult for the teenager to decelerate in time for the corner. He locked up the rear brakes and collided with Verstappen, ending both of their days. The stewards found Antonelli 'fully at fault,' handing him a three-place grid drop for next weekend's British Grand Prix, and he owned his mistake.
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Verstappen confirmed the two of them had spoken, even beyond what was captured as the drivers walked off the track. With his first DNF since the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, he now faces a 61-point gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri with 13 race weekends to go.
The pressure then fell on Tsunoda to fight his way into points after starting 18th, his third Q1 exit in the last five races but the closest lap time to Verstappen since the early-season driver swap.
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Tsunoda told reporters after the race that the RB21 'feels amazing' in the first few laps. But then, 'the tire is just melting lap by lap, corner by corner. Whatever I do, it's melting every lap, and I'm feeling less grip lap by lap. In that situation, it's really hard to maintain the pace.' The Japanese driver said he tried different ways all weekend to address the issue, but nothing worked. He wouldn't call the car bad, but said he was still trying to figure out where he was going wrong.
'The pace itself was pretty poor as well,' Tsunoda said. 'I'm not sure I'm doing completely wrong, to be honest, but the pace data between the level I have to be in is massive.'
While the race pace may have been lacking, Tsunoda didn't exactly help matters either, ending up in numerous battles with Franco Colapinto. They tangled at least once, Tsunoda making contact with the Alpine driver and sending him spinning. Both continued racing, but Tsunoda received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. He served the penalty on Lap 62 and finished last among those who completed the race (but officially P16 after three pit stops).
'Yuki had a horrible race,' Horner told reporters.
Tsunoda took responsibility for the collision with Colapinto and apologized to the team in a post-race interview with the written media. Asked whether he had the full support of the team, he responded with one word: 'Yes.'
Tsunoda's one-lap qualifying pace has improved, but his race pace is lacking, something he attributed to the tires not 'holding at all' and lacking grip.
Red Bull has already done a driver swap once this season, replacing Lawson with Tsunoda after two grands prix. Horner was asked post-race if races like Austria made him reconsider the second car, given the performance gap between the two.
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'We'll look to see how we can support him, but there's a big delta between the two cars,' Horner said.
The team principal did admit that internally they are asking why that gap exists and added that 'obviously the car has evolved over the years in a specific direction. But we'll see if we can help Yuki and rebuild his confidence in Silverstone.'
Unlike in recent years of Red Bull dominance, the RB21 has been a struggle to drive at times this season. McLaren is now the team that's in a league of its own, seemingly untouchable in Austria, while Red Bull is left trying to figure out what it can do in the last year of the current regulations.
'I still believe that we have strength and depth in this team. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the performance come that we would like,' Horner said.
'But it's the same fundamental group of people that 18 months ago had designed a car that won every single grand prix but one. They didn't suddenly just become idiots overnight.
'So, you have to acknowledge the great job that McLaren are doing and congratulations to them. But, for us, it's just about working harder because everybody is working incredibly hard.
'It's just working smarter. And let's see over the next few races.'
Teams will soon need to switch their focus solely to 2026, a move that Williams made before this season even began. With 13 races to go, Red Bull is up against the clock to unlock performance and improve its pace.
'We'll see if we can find it,' Verstappen said.
The RB21's issues have carried over from last year, where Red Bull struggled to find the right balance. The hotter temperatures, as was the case in Austria, only exacerbate the tire issues as well. It remains to be seen how the floor upgrade will perform, as only Verstappen had it in Austria. However, with three races to go before the summer break, is it enough time to unlock something for the second half of the season?
'Is it enough to challenge McLaren? I'm not sure,' Verstappen told reporters. 'Probably not. But I also don't want to sound depressed.'
(Top photos of Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen:, Jure Makeovec/AFP via Getty Images)