Hamilton on Verstappen fight at the Austrian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappen should have backed out of their wheel-to-wheel fight at the Austrian Grand Prix, after Verstappen called for a penalty and the stewards took no action. Hamilton said: "It was great. Good fun. He went off on the outside. You don't expect to go around the outside of a champion. I wouldn't expect to go around the outside of him there and hold the line. He was behind at the apex and therefore should have backed out. I left him just enough room."
Hamilton unimpressed with Verstappen penalty plea in epic fight
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Lewis Hamilton on Max Verstappen Austrian GP battle: 'You don't go around the outside of a champion'
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Vasseur on Ferrari being too focused on Mercedes in Austria
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said his team were “probably too focused on Mercedes” in the Austrian Grand Prix and did not approach the race as well as they should have after qualifying second and third. Vasseur said: "Looking back, we were probably too focused on Mercedes today. We pushed too hard in the opening laps with both cars and then perhaps reacted too aggressively with the strategy, trying to stay with them when, realistically, that wasn't our race today."
Ferrari issues blunt Mercedes F1 confession after Styrian damp squib
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Antonelli on lowering intensity before Austrian Grand Prix qualifying
Kimi Antonelli admitted he “lowered the intensity” too much after a strong start to the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, leaving him feeling tense going into qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. Antonelli said: "It was a weekend where I started very strong, and I think because of that, I kind of lowered the intensity a bit too much. And coming to qualifying, I just felt a bit tense, driving-wise. We were still up there, but I felt like I wasn't driving that well and not as free."
Kimi Antonelli admits to critical Austrian GP error: 'I just felt a bit tense'
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Perez on Cadillac's double retirement in Austria
Sergio Perez said Cadillac’s double retirement at the Austrian Grand Prix was “totally unacceptable” and described it as the “worst weekend” of his 2026 season so far, after both he and team-mate Valtteri Bottas were out within four laps. Sergio Perez said: "I think we underestimated the effect of traffic. We've been having issues all weekend – I think it's been the worst weekend. It feels like we took four or five steps backwards. So there needs to be a massive process, thinking on how we're doing things, especially when it comes to upgrades, because today what happened was totally unacceptable and very unfortunate as well for the team."
Perez brands Cadillac unreliability “unacceptable” after "worst weekend"
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2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix - Driver Ratings
Austrian GP 2026 driver ratings: Hamilton challenge fades as Verstappen ups the ante
Vermeulen on McLaren rumours around Verstappen
Max Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen says there have been no talks with McLaren amid rumours linking the Red Bull driver with a move. Vermeulen said: "There's no truth in that. There have been no negotiations."
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Mekies on Red Bull's strongest race of the season
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the Austrian Grand Prix was “undoubtedly the strongest race” the team have had this season after Max Verstappen finished second. Laurent Mekies said: "It's a very, very strong race, probably undoubtedly the strongest race we have done this season and, as we discussed after Qualifying, it was visible the progress was there but difficult to put a number on it. To see us getting so close to the ultimate pace needed to win here on a difficult track in very hot weather is a good witness of how much work went on in Milton Keynes and how strong Max today was really in all phases of the race."
Mekies on how Austria was ‘undoubtedly the strongest race'
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Vasseur on Ferrari's lack of pace in Austria
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the team’s struggles at the Austrian Grand Prix were down to a lack of pace rather than strategy, after both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton switched to a three-stop race in the hot conditions. Vasseur said: "Oh, the strategy is not the issue, I think the issue is that we didn't have the pace of the Mercedes and [Max] Verstappen. We tried to compensate taking risks on the strategy, but it was not a good fight. I think it was more a matter of pace, and we paid also [the price for] the poor Friday we had."
Vasseur on main issue behind Ferrari's Austrian GP struggles
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Norris on Ferrari's struggles in Austria
Lando Norris said he felt sorry for Ferrari after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton dropped out of podium contention in Austria. Lando Norris said: "The shock was Ferrari, struggling so much. So, to be honest, I feel bad for them. I mean, when you have no power, you have to push like hell in the straights, in the corners, and you can't do that with these front tyres. A tough race for them."
Lando Norris admits he felt sorry for Ferrari after Austria struggle
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Piastri on McLaren changes after tricky Barcelona weekend
Oscar Piastri says McLaren’s decision to “attack things pretty differently” after a “tricky” Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend was backed up by his fourth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix. Piastri said: "We put a lot of effort into understanding why Barcelona was so tricky, and we attacked things pretty differently for this weekend, and I think the result is evidence of that work. So from that side, I am really happy, but you just don't get a trophy at the end and wish for a bit more, but that was the absolute most."
Oscar Piastri issues McLaren 'evidence' in progress defence
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Hamilton on Ferrari lacking pace in Austrian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari "just lacked pace" in the Austrian Grand Prix and he did not know why, after switching to a three-stop strategy in the hot conditions at the Red Bull Ring. Hamilton said: "I think that was pretty much it, for some reason we just lacked pace. On Sunday morning, in the strategy meeting, they said: 'It's a two-stop, a three-stop is four seconds slower.' They gave us that information, and I was dead set that it was a three for me, because I thought the degradation was going to be super high, particularly as the track temperature was the highest we've had in a long time, mid 50s to 60-degree track temperature."
Lewis Hamilton puzzled by Ferrari anticlimax after 'dead set' prediction
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Piastri cleared by stewards in Austria
Oscar Piastri will face no further action after being summoned to the stewards at the Austrian Grand Prix over an allegation he drove unnecessarily slowly on reconnaissance laps and exceeded the time limit between the Safety Car lines. After hearing from Piastri and a McLaren representative and reviewing video and timing data, the stewards said it was “evident that the car was well within the specified delta time”.
FIA announces verdict after Oscar Piastri summoned in Austria
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Who slept best last night: George Russell
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Russell on tyre management and adapting to Mercedes' 2026 car
George Russell said he drove “quite abnormally” to manage his tyres at the Austrian Grand Prix as he continues to adjust to Mercedes’ 2026 car. Russell said: "Coming into this race weekend maybe my previous approach would have really hurt me on a track like this. And I drove the race very differently and quite abnormally, to be honest, to manage the tyres, and it worked quite well. Last year, I really knew how to handle the tyres on hot tracks, cold tracks, smooth surfaces, rough surfaces. And this year, I don't, to be honest. So, I'm rebuilding that."
How Russell resorted to "abnormal" driving style to win F1 Austrian GP
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Sainz on Williams needing Silverstone upgrade package
Carlos Sainz said Williams’ weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix was “still not good enough” after he retired from the race, and added the team needs the upgrade package due at Silverstone to help it become more competitive. Sainz said: "To be honest, it's still not good enough. What I had today was a car that was closer to Barcelona and the rest of the year where I felt more comfortable with, but at the same time, we've had a run of very poor weekends in these high speed, hot tracks. We still need an upgrade which Silverstone will bring. Hopefully it means we start to get a bit more competitive."
Williams Austria performance 'not good enough' – Sainz
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Bortoleto on missing out on points after Austrian GP P11
Gabriel Bortoleto said he drove “the best race I could” at the Austrian Grand Prix but still missed out on points for Audi after finishing 11th. Bortoleto said: "It is what it is. I think I did the best race I could. I overtook the Alpine that was ahead of me. We had really good race pace but I couldn't capitalise on P10 because I think the Racing Bulls were just a bit ahead of us this weekend. No one broke down ahead of us. This race was very clean for everyone."
Bortoleto disappointed to miss out on points in Austria
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