F1. Austria 2026 Review
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By Gavin Huet, Chelsea Wintle, Aiden McLaughlin and Graeme Woolf
Graeme: Like him or loathe him George Russell had a sense of confidence about him this weekend. After what appeared to be a rule break in Qualifying, only for it to end up being the lap of his life, Russell started on Pole and was hardly sighted all day Sunday. When he’s on, he’s tough to beat. And yes, I’ve done it again and picked the 1st place getter as my Driver of the Weekend. Who even am I?
Gavin: I give him a lot of stick but this week he deserves the title, well done George Russell. Just where did that qualifying lap come from, and considering he (apparently) lifted due to yellow flags it is even more impressive. He controlled the race well and was never really under any pressure, the only issue he and his team needed to manage was what Max Verstappen would do. In the end Red Bull kept their man out too long on old tyres and that was enough to ensure a victory and get George back on track.
Graeme: Was it a single yellow or a double yellow? Who even knows anymore? I turned off the TV after Qualifying and ignored all talk about it. The decision was made pretty quickly by the Stewards to leave the Qualifying results as they stood but as there wasn’t much else to talk about his weekend, it seemed to dominate all discussions thereafter.
Chelsea: Even the best races have their dull bits, and my attention was lagging around the lap 36 mark. Fernando Alonso, who along with Aston Martin is having an absolute dumpster fire of a season, chose that moment to be noted for speeding in the pit lane. “At least he’s speeding somewhere,” noted a commentator. Quite.
Gavin: That was a great race, there was action, there were overtakes, there were wheel to wheel tussles. Where are all these people who were moaning about the new regulations at the start of the season now? It turns out you can race and overtake and keep a lead, especially now that the teams and drivers have had the time to adapt and work out what needs to be done. No regulations are perfect but these are turning out to be ok, and once the FIA make the necessary tweaks they will become even better.
Gossip Time
Graeme: This season is turning into a story of the top 5 and bottom 6 teams. Because of this, why don’t they create 2 divisions of F1? They could race at the same track on the same weekend, but in different races. This would give fans more racing action each week and cars would be pitted against only those they are close with in terms of performance and driver ability. Of course this will never happen, but I had nothing else to write about so I let my mind wander.
Chelsea: Silly season doesn’t officially take place until around October, but speculation is a treat enjoyed year-round. This week, chat surrounds Max Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, having not-so-secret chats with Zak Brown of McLaren. Despite Brown insisting last year that they had the best driver lineup ever and could not possibly improve upon it, who could resist the pull of noted Dutch siren Max Verstappen? Verstappen has any number of loopholes that could allow him to leave Milton Keynes, and the prospect of him pairing with Lando Norris is one I rather enjoy. We shall see.
Gavin: When is a yellow not a double waved yellow? Q3 ended with that question and for once George Russell had some luck. His team mate Kimi Antonelli ran out of luck this weekend, twice pitting a lap early when a Virtual Safety Car could have made the stops a bit cheaper. When Carlos Sainz stopped on the pit straight and yellows were being waved, Max Verstappen’s race engineer came on the radio to warn him of the double yellow. His reply “That means flat out right, past the car? I am joking.” If he really hates F1 then comedy seems a natural progression here.
Looking Ahead
Graeme: It’s up there with Monaco as an iconic race in the calendar each year and it’s here this weekend. Yes, Silverstone! I wrote last year about the sense of anticipation and grandeur that Silverstone seems to have. With Kimi Antonelli having not won now for the past 2 races, Russell finding his mojo in Austria and the Ferrari’s & Max Verstappen looking hot, this promises to be a goodie.
Chelsea: Silverstone! I’m looking forward to seeing the reception the various British drivers get – will the Lando Stando be packed to the brim despite his pallid showing so far this year? Lewis Hamilton has a whopping nine wins at the track – more than any driver at a single track ever – and it would be brilliant to see him roll in with number 10. Not so exciting is the number of paparazzi diversions we’re likely to see at the event – though the grid walk should be hilarious
Gavin: So many people seem to be surprised by the competitiveness of Red Bull, and the lack of competitiveness of Ferrari. Red Bull, and especially Max Verstappen, are always competitive at what is their home track. Their car suits the point and shoot nature of the track and that last sector which is much more of a sweeping speed section is exactly where Red Bull lost time. Expect more of this next week at Silverstone. Ferrari are in a different position. The talk before Austria was all about how they would struggle, and struggle they did. So why would people be so surprised? Expect more struggles on the long Silverstone straights.
Bonus Picture(s)
I assume lots of towels were placed around the track to ensure a good spot.