Max Verstappen proved there is pace in the RB22 at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, putting up a fight before being beaten to the top spot on the podium by Mercedes.
The four-time champion and Red Bull home hero dangled a first grand prix win of the year in front of the Orange Army in the Austrian grandstands, but didn’t manage to improve upon P2 after piling the pressure onto George Russell and Lewis Hamilton earlier in the race.
After setting the pace in Barcelona with Hamilton, Ferrari suffered greatly with tyre degradation in Spielberg, forcing the seven-time champion to settle for P5 as his team-mate Charles Leclerc just managed to cling onto P8.
Hamilton and Verstappen rolled back the years on Sunday with a nail-biting scrap for second, with the Dutchman securing the finishing position of runner-up in the long run.
But it was the Mercedes of George Russell who crossed the line first at the Red Bull Ring, taking the chequered flag for the first time since the season-opening Australian GP and overtaking Hamilton in the championship standings as a result.
Russell’s team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli had to settle for P3, with Verstappen doing a magnificent job of splitting the dominant Silver Arrows as the Italian teenager attempted to hunt down his Red Bull right to the line.
Verstappen clinched P2 by just three tenths of a second.
McLaren star Oscar Piastri once again snuck into the top five as team-mate and reigning drivers’ title holder Lando Norris could only manage a P7 finish.
New team Cadillac once again suffered a double retirement after Valtteri Bottas’ brakes caught fire and Sergio Perez reported smoke in the cockpit once again, with both drivers ruled out of the race after just five laps.
But they werenât alone, the European heatwave appeared to play havoc with Liam Lawson’s car and Hamilton’s Ferrari. The 41-year-old had to change PU mode to cool down his SF-26 and Lawson could be heard saying over team radio early on: “Iâve got fire in my car.”
Unlike the Cadillacs, both drivers made it to the chequered flag despite their vehicles overheating.
Where other retirements were concerned, Carlos Sainz was ruled out of the Austrian GP after stopping on track due to a mechanical issue on lap 24, whilst Lance Stroll picked up his fifth DNF of the campaign due to a suspected ERS issue with his Aston Martin.
F1 Results: Austrian Grand Prix 2026
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | WINNER |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +1.611sec |
| 3 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +1.986sec |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +21.809sec |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +26.393sec |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +29.399sec |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +31.505sec |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +45.659sec |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1 LAP |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1 LAP |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1 LAP |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +1 LAP |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1 LAP |
| 14 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1 LAP |
| 15 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1 LAP |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +2 LAPS |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | +2 LAPS |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +3 LAPS |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | DNF |
| 20 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | DNF |
| 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | DNF |
| 22 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | DNF |
