Race 11 - 2025 Austrian GP - Redbull Ring Spielburg

[Nitrodaze]

We head back to Spielberg, Austria, at the Redbull Ring, where Verstappen has usually been supreme. Piastri arrives at this race with a 22-point lead over Norris after the first McLaren inter-teammate clash. Piastri shaken but not stirred. Norris' bruised ego and shaken confidence. We seem set to see the rivalry between the McLaren pair heat up as the season progresses. A Piastri win at Spielberg would most likely see him finish the first half of the season ahead in the points and most likely to secure the lead driver status going into the second half of the season. Hence, a Norris recovery at Spielberg is crucial, as would be winning the British GP at Silverstone to level up or retake the lead of the championship heading into the summer break. The converse would relegate Norris to second driver status for the remainder of the season. That is, if McLaren has learnt anything from the 2024 season.

Talk of Verstappen heading to Mercedes for 2026 has gained momentum at this race weekend. This was fueled by the delay on the Russell contract and Sky claiming Woolf admits interest in Verstappen for the 2026 season. If Verstappen takes Russell's seat at Mercedes, where is Russell going to go? One suggestion was for a swap into Verstappen's seat at Redbull. This would be very tricky as no one other than Verstappen is able to drive that car successfully. The other idea floating around is of Russell heading to Aston Martin, which may be a more rewarding direction, given that most competitive seats are locked up, at the moment, for 2026. I wonder what you think about this topic?

Temperatures are likely to be in the region of 29 degrees Celsius, which is in the Mercedes zone. The two front rows are likely to be filled by the two McLarens, Verstappen and Russell. The Ferrari cars seem to lack the pace at this track. The misery continues for the scarlet Ferraris. The floor upgrades seem not to have any effect on the performance of the Red cars.

What are your thoughts on the F1 movie if you have seen it?

[Nitrodaze]

What a lap from Norris. 1.03.9, blindingly fast. He is back.

[Used to be Starter]

What a lap from Norris. 1.03.9, blindingly fast. He is back.

Yes, great recovery from recent history for him. Now, can he keep it up through the race and into later events?

[Steve Boyd]

Time to transfer Max to the Racing Bulls? Looks like they've got the better car!

[Nitrodaze]

Yes, great recovery from recent history for him. Now, can he keep it up through the race and into later events?

Leclerc Ferrari is in second place, but a whopping half a second behind. Now, McLaren has found a solution for Norris, a half-second gap to the nearest rival would suggest the second half of the season would be a mere formality. McLaren would run away with both titles with ease.
The battle for second place would continue to be interesting, of course. I doubt we would see many upgrades after Silverstone. Hence, the Silverstone race may produce the pecking order for the rest of the season.

[Nitrodaze]

The Ferrari race pace seemed very strong in free practice, certainly closer to the McLarens than qualifying indicates. Hence, an upset is on the cards. One of the Ferraris may steal the win if the right opportunity presents itself.

[Nitrodaze]

[Nitrodaze]

[Nitrodaze]

[Nitrodaze]

Sainz is out of the race. Car on fire.