F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen heads into Red Bull's home race with upgrades and growing uncertainty
Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring is usually a recipe for success.
The defending Formula 1 champion has an upgraded car for his team's home race in Austria — where he's won five times — on the back of an encouraging second place in Canada, where his two McLaren rivals collided.
Zoom out, though, and the situation is much more uncertain.
Verstappen remains at risk of a one-race ban for too many penalty points, Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda is usually too far adrift to help him, and Verstappen's own future is far from clear.
'I don't think we need to talk about that,' Verstappen said on Thursday when asked to confirm whether he'll stay with the team for 2026. 'It's not really in my mind. It's just driving and trying to push the performance, you know. And then we focus on next year.'
Verstappen has a long-term contract through 2028, so in theory his Red Bull seat should be one of the safest on the grid. However, the deal has performance-related clauses which could reportedly allow a move.
ALSO READ | Verstappen would welcome Vettel having a role at Red Bull
In that case, the most obvious option could be Mercedes, which has yet to confirm either driver for 2026. That would mean Verstappen teaming up with an old foe in Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who'd also have to choose to drop either George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
Dramatic changes to how F1 cars look and perform are coming in 2026, and Red Bull has to adapt more than most.
For the first time in nearly two decades, it heads into a new era of F1 rules without design guru Adrian Newey, who left last year and is now at Aston Martin.
The other leading teams are sticking with their current engine arrangements, but not Red Bull. The team has an in-house engine developer, Red Bull Powertrains, but it's switching partners for 2026 from Honda to newcomer Ford.
No team in F1 depends as much on one driver as Red Bull does on Verstappen. He's scored 155 of the team's 162 points this season.
His teammates — first Liam Lawson, then Yuki Tsunoda — have struggled all season. That's helped to restore the reputation of Sergio Perez, who was dropped by Red Bull after scoring barely one-third of Verstappen's points last season.
'I know, deep down, they really regret it,' Perez said on a podcast this week. 'And I know that from a very reliable source. It's tough. I have very good friends there, and people might think I take pleasure in what happened, but no.'
Red Bull's car seems to favor Verstappen's driving style over anyone else's, but the Dutch driver says he can't diagnose the issue because he's been with the team since 2016 and has nothing else to compare it with.
'The thing is that I don't know any better, right?' he said Thursday. 'I mean, I've basically started with Red bull, so I only know one car and that's how I drive. I adapt to it. Is it the best? Is it the fastest? Is it not? I don't know.'
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The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
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Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Motor racing-Mercedes talk of Verstappen is a lot of noise, says Horner
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3 hours ago
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Austrian Grand Prix: Norris ends Verstappen's dominance at Red Bull Ring by clinching pole
Verstappen had taken pole position at the Red Bull-owned circuit in the Styrian Alps for the last five F1 races before Norris succeeded and seized his first pole in Austria, his third of the season and 12th of his career. read more Lando Norris delivered a superb final flying lap in his McLaren on Saturday to end Max Verstappen's run of domination in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring by claiming pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton clocked an outstanding lap in one minute and 3.971 seconds to outpace nearest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.521 seconds, with McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri third. Norris, who is 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers' title race, erased any hangover from his collision with Piastri in Canada two weeks ago with a thrilling demonstration of his speed and talent. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'It was a good lap, that's for sure,' said Norris. 'I guess that just little bit by little bit, I was able to get more time. Q1 was good, but I knew there were a few places I could get more time and I did what I planned to do.' Verstappen had taken pole position at the Red Bull-owned circuit in the Styrian Alps for the last five F1 races before Norris succeeded and seized his first pole in Austria, his third of the season and 12th of his career. Team-mate Piastri was disappointed and frustrated. 'I had (Pierre) Gasly spin at the first corner so I didn't even open my second lap. Lando's been very quick all weekend so it would have been a tough challenge, but we had the pace to be on the front row. 'We can still have a good race from there and we are not here to come home third.' Verstappen's last lap was stymied by a yellow flag waved when Gasly spun in his Alpine, leaving him, like Piastri, unable to clock a flying lap time. He finished seventh. Leclerc said: 'I'm very pleased. It's been a long time since we started on the front row and it's been a difficult season overall, but the team has kept pushing. 'We brought some new parts this weekend which for sure made a difference. We know we have a better car in the race than in qualifying so I hope we can put more pressure on the McLarens.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Leclerc's Ferrari team-mate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was an encouraging fourth ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, four-time champion Verstappen of Red Bull and Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber. Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli was ninth in the second Mercedes and Gasly 10th. 'Worse than before' The session began in hot conditions with temperatures of 32 (air) and 48 (track) indicating hard work for tyres. After a frantic finale, in which Russell recovered from the drop zone to 11th, it was Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon of Haas, Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz in the second Williams and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg who were eliminated. McLaren, led by Norris, set the pace. The entire field was separated by less than a second with the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Tsunoda, sixth and 18th, only 0.25 seconds apart. It was Sainz's third consecutive Q1 exit. The track temperature touched 50 at the start of Q2 with Ferrari leading the way on used softs as Norris established his supremacy again before a trackside grass fire prompted a red flag stoppage, Hamilton having run wide there at turn 10. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Verstappen was unhappy with his car's reaction to the heat. 'No grip, it's worse than before,' he reported. 'I don't know what to say!' After six minutes, the action resumed with only four to go as Norris and Piastri set the pace ahead of Leclerc while two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Williams' Alex Albon, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto of Alpine and Oliver Bearman of Haas missed out. All this left Bortoleto celebrating his first top ten qualification in fifth for the improving Sauber outfit while Verstappen complained he was impeded by a Ferrari in a way that was 'a bit naughty and super unnecessary'. As Q3 began, Russell almost hit a Ferrari when he was released into their path narrowly avoiding a collision. On the first runs, Norris was fastest again ahead of Leclerc with Piastri third and Hamilton fourth, the Ferraris enjoying the heat as Mercedes wilted before Norris stormed to pole. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
