The Austrian Grand Prix of 2026 was a spectacle of contrasting fortunes, with some drivers and teams soaring to success while others struggled to keep their heads above water. The race was a microcosm of the season so far, with the top teams showing their mettle and the rest fighting to keep up. Let's take a closer look at the winners and losers of this thrilling race.
The Stars
Max Verstappen (2nd)
Max Verstappen, the Dutch driver, might have come up short of victory, but it was his and Red Bull's most competitive Sunday of the season so far. The Austrian Grand Prix was a turning point for Verstappen, who had been watching Mercedes and Ferrari pull ahead with their big upgrades. However, in Austria, Verstappen was finally buoyed by a significant development package. The question remains whether the RB22 can maintain this form at every circuit, but the team is certainly closer, and that gives them an important 'pull' factor in their fight to keep Verstappen.
George Russell (1st)
George Russell, the British driver, secured a comfortable win, despite not having the 'total control' dominant win that would psychologically tip the momentum of the year. His qualifying and the yellow flag situation were a work in progress until the very final runs, and the win looked under serious threat in the second phase of the race. However, Russell ultimately emerged with a 10-point swing in his favor over his team-mate, a round after an 18-point swing. Russell is rebuilding his season brick by brick, but he's buying himself time and putting things back into his own hands.
Oscar Piastri (4th)
Oscar Piastri, the Australian driver, admitted he had a lot of 'homework' to do after a difficult Barcelona GP. However, in Austria, Piastri delivered a thumping intra-team victory with a solid drive to fourth. McLaren clearly didn't have the pace to match Verstappen's Red Bull or the Mercedes duo, but Piastri did a good job to beat one Red Bull, both Ferraris, and Norris convincingly.
Racing Bulls (9th & 10th)
The Racing Bulls team repeated its best-of-the-rest trick from qualifying in the race and was never troubled by the opposition. The 11-second gap between Arvid Lindblad and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto behind him in 11th showed the team's dominance. Once Liam Lawson had stopped reporting that his car was on fire, the only real moment of note was the team's decision to undercut Lawson back past Lindblad at their final stops.
The Flops
Kimi Antonelli (3rd)
Kimi Antonelli, the Finnish driver, seems quite aware that he could have won the Grand Prix. His self-flagellating post-race reaction referenced mistakes driven by some sort of brake discomfort in the first lap and further into that first stint. Had he ended up at least third rather than fifth following that opening sequence, the Grand Prix would have opened up to him. However, the time lost there was enough to consign him to a hopeless chase in the final meters.
Ferrari (5th & 8th)
Ferrari, the Italian team, failed to replicate its Barcelona strategy masterclass in Austria. The major engine upgrade brought to Austria fell flat, killing any momentum gained from its Barcelona victory. Charles Leclerc, in particular, looked off-colour, a further 19 seconds behind Hamilton, without any of the obvious braking problems that explained his miserable Montreal and Monaco weekends.
Lando Norris (7th)
Lando Norris, the British driver, fell somewhere between nonplussed and disinterested in his immediate reaction to a seventh place in an Austrian GP. The near-10-second gap between the two McLaren drivers isn't anything like the 35-second drubbing Norris dished out on Piastri at Barcelona, but it was ultimately big enough for two cars - Hamilton's Ferrari and Isack Hadjar's Red Bull - to slot into.
Cadillac (DNF & DNF)
Cadillac, the American team, suffered from technical issues on Friday, which then bled into Saturday morning on Valtteri Bottas's car. Failing to get either car past five laps before overheating brakes curtailed their progress was a pretty galling showing.
The Rest of the Midfield
The 'big four' teams and the Racing Bulls had great reliability and controlled execution, making points an impossibility for the midfield rivals. The Alpine, which had come alive on Sunday at Barcelona after a subpar qualifying, steadfastly refused to do that here and appeared to get precious little out of an upgraded front wing. The Audi was OK but just outmatched. Haas plainly did not have the car all through the weekend. And while Williams has to be considered an honorary member of the midfield by virtue of its position and points tally in the constructors' standings, the FW48 is only a true 'midfield' car when it feels like it.
