George Russell sealed his second win at the Red Bull Ring after a sensational 2026 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix. Here’s how the drivers fared during a chaotic race set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Styrian hills.
The 71-lap race at the Red Bull Ring was one for the tyre whisperers. High tyre degradation and searing track temperatures made the lives of the drivers difficult but Russell overcame the challenge, leading Max Verstappen and team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the chequered flag.
George Russell: 10
Grid Position: P1, Race Result: P1
Russell delivered a metronomic performance throughout the weekend. The Briton was at ease with the W17, a package he has struggled to get the most out from in recent weeks by his own admission.
The Mercedes driver registered a stellar Q3 effort, on Saturday – with “common sense” prevailing as he judged the single yellow caution to perfection when his rivals (including team-mate Antonelli) had failed to, to slot his car in pole.
Come race day, Russell got off the line well, maintaining his lead as the pack behind him squabbled for places. Despite a fast charging Verstappen on his tail throughout his stints, Russell kept a cool head, executed a perfect two-stop strategy, and took the race win from the Dutchman by just 1.6 seconds at the chequered flag.
Not a foot wrong, and Russell rounds off his Austrian GP weekend with a perfect 10.
Kimi Antonelli: 8
Grid Position: P4, Race Result: P3
What started as the end of a five-race winning streak at Barcelona, developed into back-to-back winless races at Spielberg for the 19-year-old championship leader.
A misreading of events during qualifying, assuming a double-waved yellow after Verstappen’s Q3 shunt, for which he took the onus on himself, Antonelli was slated to start the 71-lap race from fourth on the grid.
But the Italian’s afternoon was made tricky with a few over-ambitious moves at the start into Turn 1 and 3, which saw him take evasive action after overshooting the corners. The very next lap, he tried an audacious move on Leclerc into the Turn 3 hairpin, after having overshot Turn 1, once again – this time also ending up on the escape road.
This would turn out to be a brake overheating issue for the Mercedes driver. His race engineer confirmed it to be a brake split problem, over the team radio comms.
That said, Antonelli kept chipping away, and his underlying consistency while the likes of Hamilton, Leclerc, Norris and Piastri struggled saw him back in contention for the podium place.
In the end, the 19-year-old drove a commanding second-half, even challenging Verstappen for second place in the final laps of the race – taking the chequered flag in third, just under two seconds from his team-mate, Russell.
A strong weekend from Antonelli, but his 40-point lead in the championship now seems more fragile than ever.
Max Verstappen: 9.5
Grid Position: P5, Race Result: P2
An almost brand-new RB22 was on offer for the race weekend, with the Milton-Keynes-based team bringing a substantial upgrade package to Austria.
Qualifying, however, turned out to be a nightmare for the four-time World Champion, with a freak rear-wing failure leading to a hefty shunt on his final flying effort in Q3.
Yet, Verstappen started the race from fifth, and proved it once and for all that if he has a fast package underneath him, he will always fight at the sharp end of the field.
An opportunistic move on Leclerc on Lap 2, saw Verstappen squared up with his old sparring partner, Hamilton. A titanic battle ensued, and after much back-and-forth, Verstappen was able to slot himself in P2.
From there on, the Dutchman more or less maintained net second-place, but mounted a stellar late-race challenge for the win with a tyre offset strategy. Alas, he was beaten to the chequered flag by race-winner Russell by just 1.6 seconds.
Notwithstanding missing out on the win, Verstappen drove the wheels off of his RB22, and the fact that he was even standing on the second-step of the podium only a day after his Q3 shunt, means its only a matter of time before he wins an F1 race again – provided Red Bull are able to build on the solid foundations of its Austrian GP package.
Isack Hadjar: 7.5
Grid Position: P8, Race Result: P6
The fiery Frenchman has seemed to be immune to the curse of Red Bull’s second seat, so far into 2026. While he’s not been a match for Verstappen yet, he’s doing the job the Milton-Keynes-based team have set out for him – to be in the Dutchman’s vicinity.
Hadjar maintained his streak of Q3 appearances on Saturday, and come race day, drove a solid race to secure a well-deserved sixth-placed finish for the team.
Oscar Piastri: 7
Grid Position: P7, Race Result: P4
The Australian seemed pretty much like the lead McLaren during the race, on Sunday.
Despite qualifying behind Norris, albeit by the slimmest of margins, Piastri got his elbows out at the start and jostled his way past the Briton.
Track position also came good for him in terms of strategy preference, and the quickly depleting Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton allowed him to jump into fourth by the end of the race.
Nothing to write home about, but a solid result nonetheless for Piastri.
Lando Norris: 5
Grid Position: P6, Race Result: P7
F1’s latest era has started on a difficult note for the reigning F1 World Champion, and Austria was no different. The MCL40 has not been the benchmark it had proved to be in the last couple of seasons, and the gap to the front-runners was quite substantial for Norris, on Saturday.
The Briton was consigned to his fate after the sixth-fastest lap in Q3, and come race day, strategy and tyre wear unravelled his afternoon.
After losing places at the start, and crucially to his team-mate Piastri, Norris struggled all race long with the balance of his car and high thermal degradation on his tyres.
Not being the lead McLaren on track also cost him in terms of strategy with Piastri getting the preference to pit to cover off Isack Hadjar’s RB22 after the opening stint.
Norris’ Austrian GP has perfectly summed up by the lukewarm start his title defence has suffered in 2026 so far.
Lewis Hamilton: 6
Grid Position: P3, Race Result: P5
Hamilton has been riding on a wave of recent success with the iconic Italian marque. At Barcelona, two weeks ago, the seven-time World Champion won his maiden Grand Prix for the Scuderia.
That said, the Briton’s three-race podium streak came to a squalid end in Austria. While Hamilton was able to slot his SF-26 onto the second-row of the grid, he was no where near the front-runners throughout the 71 laps.
Despite a brand new power unit in the back of his car, Hamilton was visibly struggling for straight-line speed – a condition fatal to his chances on a circuit that boasted as many as four substantial straight mode zones for the race on Sunday.
What also didn’t help him was the fact that Verstappen decided to roll back the years with a 2021-esque lap-after-lap battle with Hamilton for position. And while the ensuing scrap between the two multiple-time F1 champions was a treat to watch for the fans, it eventually cost the Briton hard in terms of overall race time.
Hamilton’s SF-26 was also prone to overheating. Losing places to the likes of Verstappen and Piastri, Hamilton finally limped back home in fifth – a far cry from his Catalonian exploits from just two Sundays ago.
Charles Leclerc: 4
Grid Position: P2, Race Result: P8
The Monegasque has been struggling for results with the SF-26 so far, in 2026. Leclerc came into the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring off the back of two disappointing outings at Monaco and Barcelona, respectively.
With an upgraded engine in the back of his car, on Saturday, Leclerc was able to slot his car on the front-row alongside Russell, but it all unravelled pretty quickly for him on Sunday.
At the start, the Ferrari driver was entangled in a battle with Antonelli, into Turn 3, which quickly ended up in a five-way fight with Verstappen and the McLarens coming out of Turn 4.
Leclerc lost positions but was able to find his way back into the top five during the race. But a mid-race scrap with Oscar Piastri led to front-wing damage, and the resulting pit stops including his final stint on the red-walled Soft tyres eventually saw him take the chequered flag in eighth – 45 seconds off the lead – and the last of the un-lapped cars.
Leclerc’s disappointing run of form continues, as team-mate Lewis Hamilton ekes out a handy advantage over him in the drivers’ standings.
Liam Lawson & Arvid Lindblad: 7
Grid Position: P9 (Law) – P10 (LIN), Race Result: P9 (LAW) – P10 (LIN)
The Racing Bulls duo continued their charge on Alpine for fifth in the Constructors’ standings after a solid double points finish at the Red Bull Ring, on Sunday. Lawson made it back-to-back Q3 appearances for himself with the ninth-fastest lap on Sunday. Lindblad slotted behind his team-mate in 10th.
The race on Sunday was much the same for the Faenza-based team, with their drivers taking the chequered flag in the same positions they got off the grid at lights out.
Three points may not seem like much at this point, but the midfield battle is slated to go down to the wire come Abu Dhabi given the rate of development we’ve seen so far.
A solid pair of drives for the duo, amid all the chaos breaking out around them.
Gabriel Bortoleto: 7
Grid Position: P12, Race Result: P11
The Brazilian racing driver was pretty much the lead Audi driver, on a weekend when the German marque had brought quite a substantial upgrade package to the Red Bull Ring.
It paid off for Bortoleto on Saturday, who out-qualified his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg for the third time this season. The 21-year-old also seemed to have raw race pace and climbed a place at the chequered flag to finish in 11th.
His result at Austria has seen him finish just outside the points for the second consecutive race, and Bortoleto would be eager to get back into the points once again for the first time since the Australian GP, in March, at Silverstone, next weekend.
Nico Hulkenberg: 6
Grid Position: P14, Race Result: P12
Despite an upgraded Audi, which was knocking on the doors of Q3 in the hands of his team-mate Bortoleto, Hulkenberg struggled for pace during qualifying. The German driver was quick to admit that he wasn’t feeling one with the car, and lacking “harmony and rhythm” throughout Saturday.
A self-inflicted grid slot of 14th then forced Hulkenberg’s hand into driving a min-recovery race to catch up to his team-mate, which, in all fairness, he did. The underlying pace, therefore, of the Audi package seems to check out in terms of its push towards the midfield.
But Hulkenberg needs to ensure he is firing on all cylinders, come Silverstone, if he wants to continue to assert his dominance on Bortoleto and start challenging the established midfield order.
Pierre Gasly: 5
Grid Position: P11, Race Result: P13
Gasly finished outside the top 10 for the first time since the Miami GP, in May. His A526 was tantalisingly close to making the top-10 shootout on Saturday but missed the mark by just 0.040 seconds.
The 71-lap race, however, was a pretty uneventful affair for the Frenchman who slipped down to 13th after the opening lap squabbles. From there onwards, the Alpine driver didn’t have really any pace to recover and took the chequered flag in P13.
Franco Colapinto: 3
Grid Position: P16, Race Result: P15
Colapinto has shown sparks of his debut form with Williams back in 2024, this season, but that wasn’t up for offer at Austria, last weekend. Struggling with the pace deficit of the A526, the Argentinian was always a step behind his team-mate, Gasly, and could only muster a P15 finish at the chequered flag.
Oliver Bearman: 4.5
Grid Position: P13, Race Result: P14
Haas had brought a substantial set of upgrades to the Red Bull Ring this weekend, and Bearman had felt confident and content with the 13th lap during qualifying on Saturday.
And while he lauded the upgraded VF-26 for being “the best car” he’s had in 2026, the 21-year-old was unable to make any significant inroads after the start. Notwithstanding, Bearman was the quicker of the two Haas’ and seemingly out-performed the package he had compared to his team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Esteban Ocon: 2.5
Grid Position: P15, Race Result: P16
Ocon has been out-paced by his younger team-mate Bearman across the eight rounds run in 2026 so far. Austria was the sixth time he was out-qualified by the Briton.
The race also proved to be a tricky affair for the Frenchman, who is also seemingly fighting for his future in F1 and a seat at Haas, behind the scenes. That said, the fire you would normally see from a driver fighting for his seat was not visible inside the cockpit of Ocon’s VF-26.
This may have stemmed from the overall lack of competitiveness the Banbury-based squad faced against its rivals, last weekend, and the Frenchman fell down one grid slot at the chequered flag to secure P16 after the 71-lap race – two laps down on the leaders, and a lap down on his own team-mate.
Alex Albon: 2.5
Grid Position: P18, Race Result: P17
Albon is now the longest serving Williams driver in history, but the FW48 doesn’t seem to be capable of delivering performances commemorative of that feat. After an 18th placed finish at Barcelona, the Grove-based team’s pace deficit extended across the Styrian hills. A disappointing qualifying ended with a P17 finish, two laps down on the leaders.
Carlos Sainz: N/A
Grid Position: P17, Race Result: DNF
The Austrian GP, on Sunday, rounded off an overall disappointing weekend for the former Ferrari driver. The Grove-based team has struggled for outright pace and reliability in 2026, and chose not to bring any upgrades to the Red Bull Ring.
This showed as both, Sainz and team-mate Alex Albon couldn’t even make it into Q2 on Saturday. But the Spaniard was put out of his competitive miseries soon as engine troubles forced him to park his FW48 up at the side of the road on the pit straight.
Heading into the British GP, Sainz would be hoping for a more favorable turnout at Silverstone – the venue of his maiden F1 win back in 2022.
Fernando Alonso: 2
Grid Position: P21, Race Result: P18
The less said about Alonso’s 2026 with Aston Martin so far, the better. The Silverstone-based team’s issues with its package and the works Honda power unit were once again a thorn in the side of the two-time World Champion.
Locking out the bottom row of the grid with his team-mate Lance Stroll, the 71-lap race was a painful reminder of the Spaniard’s competitive woes.
And though he made up three places from his starting slot on paper, he was an agonising three laps down, and the last of the classified runners at the chequered flag.
Lance Stroll: N/A
Grid Position: P21, Race Result: DNF
Aston Martin’s competitive struggles and Stroll’s general lack of pace as compared to his team-mate, Alonso, have seen the Canadian square off at the back end of the grid consistently in 2026.
Austria was no different for the former Williams driver. 22nd and last in qualifying, a suspected ERS issue thankfully ended his race which by that point was heading towards yet another embarrassing outing for the 27-year-old.
Sergio Perez: N/A
Grid Position: P19, Race Result: DNF
Unfortunately for Cadillac and Perez, the upgrades the team brought to Austria never really got a chance to be tested. After his team-mate Valtteri Bottas was forced to park up in the pit lane for a set of fiery brakes, the former Red Bull driver retired from the race within the first five laps.
Valtteri Bottas: N/A
Grid Position: P20, Race Result: DNF
A tough homecoming to F1 continues for the Finn. Cadillac had brought reliability and performance upgrades to the Red Bull Ring but the sweltering weather proved to be too much for the brakes on Bottas’ car, as he was asked to come into the pits and retire after his brakes caught on fire within the opening couple of laps.
READ MORE – Kimi Antonelli identifies crucial problems that cost him F1 Austrian GP win
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