Five Takeaways: Austrian Grand Prix

Credit: Formula One

Formula One’s European stint resumed this past weekend in Austria, where the latest round of the 2026 season delivered another action-packed Grand Prix. 

George Russell returned to the top step, fending off a surprise threat as new upgrades split the field. Where some teams struck gold, others saw upgrades that ended up digging them into a hole.

Here are DIVEBOMB’s five key takeaways from The 2026 Austrian Grand Prix. 

Russell resurges

For the first time since the opening round in March, Mercedes’ Russell has once again found himself parking his car in the number one spot. In what many were calling a “must-win” situation for Russell, he kept his composure to sail to victory yet again. 

For Russell, the entire weekend was strong from start to finish. On Saturday, he delivered a monster qualifying lap under uncertain conditions as time expired to claim pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. He then converted that pace directly into victory, driving a near-perfect race over 71 laps to take the chequered flag. 

 Credit: Formula One

“It’s incredible to be back on the top step. It’s been a little while, so I’m definitely going to enjoy this one this evening,” said Russell after the race. 

“The tough races definitely test you psychologically, and these last two weekends for me have been vitally important to remind myself I can do it.” 

Following Sunday’s results, Russell has brushed past Lewis Hamilton to second in the driver’s standings. More crucially for him, though, the gap to his teammate Kimi Antonelli has dropped from 50 points to 40. 

Verstappen turns the page

When in Austria’s Red Bull Ring, you would hope that Max Verstappen would put on a show for the fans, right? Well, he certainly did across Saturday and Sunday, just in two very different ways. 

During Saturday’s qualifying, Verstappen caused the crowd to erupt, but not exactly in a positive way. Fans were forced to watch as the driver’s Red Bull crashed into the barriers on his final qualifying effort, just as he had begun to contend with the Mercedes drivers ahead. 

Verstappen and his team celebrate a second-place finish | Credit: Formula One

Despite starting in fifth place on the grid for Sunday’s race, Verstappen seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Red Bull’s new upgrade package as he stormed to a second-place finish behind Russell. 

At many points in the race, it was looking like Verstappen might just have been able to pull out the win, and while he certainly kept Russell honest, he was unable to steal the victory in the end.

"To be second and close to a win, I think, is extremely positive for us,” said Verstappen after the Grand Prix. “So in that sense, I'm very happy." 

After dealing with multiple technical issues so far this season, Verstappen’s near-win and strong pace are a welcome sign for the team over at Red Bull. Dually, it may also help keep Verstappen with the team, as rumours continue to circulate about the Dutchman’s exit from the team. 

Cadillac lose out with new upgrades

Heading into Austria, Cadillac was optimistic about its new, extensive upgrade package. The primary goal was to bring the American outfit closer to the battle in the midfield, a seemingly realistic and worthwhile target.

Unfortunately, upgrades don’t always translate to better performance. In fact, in Cadillac’s case, they only equaled disaster. 

Both Cadillacs DNF’d in Sunday’s Race | Credit: Formula One

Following a string of technical issues in both Cadillac drivers during the free practice sessions, the pairing of Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire during the opening laps of Sunday’s Grand Prix due to both cars catching on fire. 

After the race, when asked about the double retirement, Pérez was disappointed but still optimistic about the pace of the Cadillac. 

“Unfortunately, we had to retire quite early. It looked like we had a bit more pace to compete with the others, so it’s a little bit of a shame.” 

He added: “It’s been a very frustrating weekend for the whole team to have these issues. I expect a massive internal discussion on our processes and how we are doing things. We have to step up, because we cannot have these sorts of issues.” 

Mirroring the disappointed sentiment, Pérez’s teammate shared similar commentary. 

"Difficult weekend, a lot of issues. Again, a weekend to learn from and just got to act on these issues and fix them,” said Bottas. “It's a shame because I thought we made the car a bit quicker, but we've got to start finishing races." 

Ferrari falls short

Credit: Formula One

Fresh off Hamilton’s Grand Prix victory in Barcelona, and wielding new upgrades, expectations were high for Ferrari in Austria. The pairing of Charles Leclerc and teammate Hamilton saw a strong qualifying session on Saturday, qualifying in second and third, respectively, for Sunday's race. 

Despite showing strong pace in qualifying, the race on Sunday was a completely different story for the prancing horse. Hamilton was able to make multiple passes on his teammate during the Grand Prix, however his forced three-stop strategy and all-around lack of pace dropped him down to fifth place. 

"I don't know why we were so slow today,” said Hamilton after the race. “We really struggled on pace; degradation was really, really high, much worse than anticipated.” 

On the other side of the garage, Hamilton’s teammate Leclerc struggled even more. Dropping from second position to eighth place by the end of the Grand Prix, the Monegasque faced yet another forgettable race performance. 

After back-to-back retirements in Monaco and Barcelona, Leclerc was desperate to put something more encouraging together in Austria. 

Unfortunately, that simply didn’t happen. 

Credit: Formula One

“Qualifying was a step forward yesterday. I felt a little bit better in the car and was getting a more positive feeling, but today it’s kind of back to struggling, “ said Leclerc. 

“We’ve got to work and try to understand what’s going on there. I've been struggling a lot.” 

For Leclerc, he can only continue to hope that his next race is better than the last, an unfortunate trend he carries into his teammate’s home race this weekend. 

McLaren: Missing in Action 

Yet again, McLaren fell short pace-wise compared to their competitors. Well…sort of.

After strong free practice performances from both drivers, many were speculating that this may be the weekend that McLaren finally returned to grace. 

Credit: Formula One

Unfortunately, that all slipped away on Saturday, when the duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri only managed sixth and seventh place on the grid, respectively. 

Both drivers had said multiple times that the pace of the MCL40 was nowhere near that of the Mercedes, and yet hope was still alive for a brief moment. 

During Sunday’s race, Norris, the reigning world champ, lost a few places during the opening laps. Following a pretty uneventful race, the Briton ultimately ended up in seventh place ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc. 

For Piastri, things were a lot more promising. Although the Australian was unable to get within striking distance of the cars ahead, Piastri still led a confident drive to a fourth-place finish. 

While it’s hard to believe that the same team that dominantly won last year’s constructors' championship is celebrating fourth, such is the reality of the 2026 F1 season. 

Looking Ahead

And that concludes the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix. With another race weekend just around the corner, teams won’t have much time to reflect on Spielberg before turning their attention to what the next race weekend brings. 

Up next, we head to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. 

Edited by Marit Everett