Verstappen camp held preliminary McLaren talks
Max Verstappen’s management initiated “preliminary talks” with McLaren CEO Zak Brown about his future, Sky Sports F1 has reported, after the Daily Mail revealed the discussions on the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix. Sky’s Craig Slater said the contact “was instigated by Max Verstappen’s people”, as Verstappen’s Red Bull deal runs to the end of 2028 but is understood to include a performance-related exit clause for 2027.
Revealed: Who initiated Max Verstappen's shock McLaren F1 talks
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Ocon on Haas pace after Austrian GP finish
Esteban Ocon said his Haas felt like a “road car” after finishing 16th at the Austrian Grand Prix. Ocon said: "That was very similar in Monaco, it was very similar in Barcelona, and it's still a problem here, so I think the positive is that we exploited the maximum amount of what we have in hand, but obviously it's very far from where we should be. I mean, at the pace I'm going, to be honest, it's like driving in a road car."
Esteban Ocon's ‘road car’ verdict after Austrian GP misery
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Hadjar on Austrian GP fight with the front-runners
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar said he had “good fun” in the Austrian Grand Prix during what he described as his first proper fight with Formula 1’s “big boys”, after finishing sixth from eighth on the grid. Hadjar said: "I don't remember a race in my career where I fought with the big boys, like the Ferrari, the McLarens. So that was good fun, that was a first. And I think we succeeded quite well. But yeah, if we had started a bit further up the grid, if it wasn't for deployment issues, I think there was a fourth place in the locker. So it's positive."
Isack Hadjar enjoys first proper fight with F1's "big boys"
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Bottas on Cadillac brake cooling redesign after Austrian retirements
Valtteri Bottas says Cadillac should accept an aerodynamic penalty to improve brake cooling after he and team-mate Sergio Perez retired from the Austrian Grand Prix with brake fires. Bottas said: "It is clear that we've got to re-design some bits; otherwise, we're not going to finish races. But there will be an aerodynamic cost to using a bigger brake, but I'll take that penalty to finish a race. We've got to start finishing races; that's when we learn."
Valtteri Bottas calls for Cadillac sacrifice after latest F1 car fires
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7 moments you might have missed at the 2026 Austrian GP
Ferrari title dream over as Max Verstappen 'little pain' assessed – International media reacts
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Max Verstappen’s management has held talks with McLaren over the four-time world champion’s future - but this isn't about replacing Oscar Piastri for 2027.
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Verstappen on Red Bull's work to do in title fight
Max Verstappen says Red Bull still have work to do before they can fight regularly for the Formula 1 title, with the Dutchman 98 points behind Kimi Antonelli after finishing second at the Austrian Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "Well, I think there are more races left than last year, but it's a very big gap. I think, for us, we had very good pace, but I think to fight for a title, we need to be more all-round. I think we just need to be a little bit more all-round still. Hopefully it doesn't take too long, but we have still a little bit of work to do."
Max Verstappen quizzed on F1 title chances after season-best Austrian GP
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Wolff on Antonelli's Austrian GP mistakes
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Kimi Antonelli’s mistakes during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend will not be repeated, after the 19-year-old over-attacked in the opening laps of the race and misread a yellow flag in qualifying. Wolff said: "The first few corners were where the race got lost. Full attack mode, missing the braking point into Turn 1, missing the braking point into Turn 3, missing the braking point into Turn 4. But, as I said, this is exactly what I expect from him. Like in qualifying with the yellow flag, that's never going to happen to him again in his life, not knowing whether it was a double yellow or a single yellow."
Toto Wolff delivers striking Kimi Antonelli defence: 'Never going to happen again'
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Sainz on Williams' reliability and pace issues after Austria
Carlos Sainz says Williams do not have the reliability or pace to score points after an electrical issue ended his race in Austria. Sainz said: "But hopefully this will be the last of these really bad weekends where everything has gone wrong. Because in the end we don't have reliability, we don't have pace, we don't have a car capable of scoring points, so we'll have to wait and see if things improve at Silverstone."
No reliability and no pace: Carlos Sainz admits Williams doesn't “have a car capable of scoring points"
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Norris on lost track position in Austrian Grand Prix
Lando Norris said losing positions on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix left him with too much track position to recover. Norris said: "There was nothing easy about the race with the temperatures we had. I just lost out on lap one to a couple of cars and then lost out in the pit stops by having to box Oscar first to cover Hadjar. I lost out, and that was it, really. So, not a lot to complain about otherwise. We just lost track position, and track position was the most important thing."
Lando Norris identifies crucial moment that ended Austrian GP hopes
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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."
Max Verstappen to McLaren rumours draw manager response
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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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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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Edd Straw's 2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix driver rankings
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