Formula 1: Articles & News Reports.

**Fortitude** · Yesterday, 07:31

Verstappen ‘excited’ to debut new Red Bull upgrade in Austria.
Max Verstappen is heading into Red Bull’s home Grand Prix with a sense of anticipation and optimism, as the reigning world champion prepares to get his first taste of a significant new upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix.
24/06/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Unsurprisingly, the Dutchman is excited to be back. "Austria is of course a home Grand Prix for the Team," Verstappen said. "It's been a great track for me in the past, and we have had really good memories there. It's a very interesting track, and all of the corners are quite different, so it's really important to get a good balance out of the car,” he added.

“You need both high-speed and low-speed performance, good traction, and now, with how energy-sensitive some tracks are, it is important to work to get on top of this. We have a new package we are bringing, so it is exciting to see how much this could look to give us in lap time. We are looking forward to see what we can do at the Red Bull Ring,” Verstappen concluded.

‘Excited’;

https://f1i.com/news/567278-verstapp...n-austria.html

Max Verstappen talks with Red Bull continue as Ferrari confirm power unit upgrade – RacingNews365 Review
Check out the biggest stories of the day with the RacingNews365 Review!
24 June 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Max Verstappen is set to continue talks this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix as Red Bull seek a resolution over his F1 future. Verstappen currently has a deal in place until the 2028 season, however, performance-related exit clauses have left his whereabouts beyond the current season in doubt.

Ferrari has confirmed that it will introduce its first power unit upgrade at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, while Charles Leclerc will sit out first practice. The Scuderia is set to use its first Additional Development Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) token to upgrade its internal combustion engine at the Red Bull Ring.

‘Talks’;

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...news365-review

Where Ferrari stands ahead of highly anticipated engine upgrade
25 Jun 2026
ROSARIO GIULIANA
The Race

Following confidential communications from the FIA between the Miami and Monaco Grands Prix regarding engine performance measurements across the field, Ferrari received confirmation that it qualifies for two in-season engine development tokens. According to information gathered by The Race, the performance deficit assessed by the FIA places Ferrari within a window believed to be between 6% and 8% off the benchmark, deemed to be Red Bull, granting Maranello additional development opportunities.

The significance of this goes beyond the two upgrade tokens themselves. Ferrari is also entitled to additional dyno hours and extra development budget, resources that can now be directed towards a more comprehensive engine evolution planned either immediately before or shortly after the summer break. The exact timing has not yet been finalised, as Ferrari now has greater flexibility to maximise the development programme following confirmation of the available concessions.

The specification introduced in Austria, internally referred to as "ICE ADUO 1", represents a different approach. Rather than spending both development tokens together later in the season, Ferrari has chosen to introduce an initial upgrade that has been under development since the winter months, while preserving scope for a more significant evolution later on. The revised combustion engine specification will also be accompanied by an updated Shell biofuel blend. The package will be introduced alongside Ferrari's third power unit allocation of the season, still within the four units permitted before grid penalties are triggered.

‘Engine upgrade’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/w...ngine-upgrade/

Ferrari downplays effect of 'minor' power unit update for the Austrian Grand Prix
24 Jun 2026
Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com

Ferrari is set to introduce an updated version of its power unit at the Austrian Grand Prix following Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona. However, the Italian team underlined that the change is only a minor update. Looking ahead to next weekend, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur stressed that the team is approaching the championship one race at a time.

He said: "We arrive in Austria encouraged by our positive showing over the past few races, even though we are fully aware that there is still a lot of work to do and that we must continue to focus on ourselves. We will approach this weekend with the same method and mindset that we have adopted since the start of the season aiming to put together clean sessions in every respect, from track execution to the strategic decisions taken on the pit wall. We know that every weekend has a different story to tell which is why we will continue to take the championship one race at a time."

‘Ferrari downplays effect’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/ferra...ian-grand-prix

Austrian GP predictions: Hamilton title talk silenced, Mercedes engine disaster, Leclerc revival
25 Jun 2026
Editor
PlanetF1.com

Talk of a Lewis Hamilton world title to go silent - By Michelle Foster: Do you hear that? No? Nothing…? That’s because all the talk post-Barcelona about Lewis Hamilton winning the world title will go quiet come Sunday afternoon in Austria. Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona Grand Prix was a momentous occasion as it showed the world, and perhaps Hamilton as well, that he can still win if – and it’s a big if – the chips fall in his favour. But after two weeks of listening to every pundit and former driver with a podcast saying Hamilton is the fight for the world title and that Ferrari should ‘wingman’ Charles Leclerc to back the Briton, those voices will go silent on Sunday.

At least three Mercedes-powered cars to retire - By Oliver Harden: How will the Mercedes power unit fare in a European heatwave? That is perhaps the key question entering this weekend. With Merc cars suffering a cluster of reliability problems over recent races – most recently Kimi Antonelli’s stoppage in the closing laps in Barcelona – HPP may be looking ahead to this weekend with some trepidation. There is every chance that reliability will shape this year’s title battle between Antonelli and George Russell, whose battery suffered heat damage in his retirement at a relatively cool Canada.

‘Predictions’;

https://www.planetf1.com/features/au...26-predictions

**Fortitude** · Today, 10:17

F1 - 2026 Austrian Grand Prix - Thursday Press Conference Transcript.
Isack HADJAR (Red Bull), Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren), Pierre GASLY (Alpine), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Audi), George RUSSELL (Mercedes), Sergio PÉREZ (Cadillac).
25.06.26
FIA (Press Release)

Q: Oscar, let’s stay with you and can we talk about the McLaren? You didn’t look too comfortable last time out in Barcelona. Do you have reasons to be bullish about the car here, a track at which McLaren has got a pretty good record?
Oscar PIASTRI: I think on a personal level, yes, I’ve got a good understanding. We’ve done a lot of homework as to why the race in Barcelona was such a struggle for me. I think we’ve got a good idea why and a good plan on how to not repeat that. I think for us as a team here, you know, Ferrari took a good step forward in Barcelona, Mercedes is still the benchmark as well, and I’m hearing along the grapevine that Red Bull have got some big things as well. So, it’s not going to be easy for us. Yes, it has been a good track for us in the past, but there’s no illusion for us that we’re suddenly going to be amazing here and the team to beat. We’re definitely not going to be.

Q: Pierre, let’s come back to you. This is the best start to a season you’ve ever had. Just how much potential does this car have?
Pierre GASLY: Well, yeah, I must say that the team so far has done a good job in terms of reliability. They’ve really been faultless so far. I think the car performance, we’ve seen from the start of the year, we seem to be able to fight in the points pretty much consistently every weekend. The midfield is kind of swinging one way or another depending on the weekend, depending on the track. Sometimes we’re slightly closer to the top four. At the start of the year, now we kind of dropped slightly. The last few weekends have been slightly more complicated but we’re still there and we’ve been very consistent.

Q: What’s causing the fluctuation from one race to the next?
Isack HADJAR: Well, that’s what we are trying to figure out. It’s complicated. To make it clear, it’s not human error on my side, that’s for sure. I think the procedure is simple and I know how to achieve it. It’s just deeper issues. I told the guys it’s the main point to focus on the last week since Barcelona. It’s not the only thing, but they’ve been focusing very hard on it. Let’s see from FP1 how I feel, but in Barcelona the whole weekend, every time I dropped the clutch, it was going nowhere and it was like that the whole time. So let’s see how we did the last couple of days to try and understand and see if we apply it.

Q: George, if we could perhaps start with you. Toto referred to the recent Spanish Grand Prix as a reality check for Mercedes. Even with your pole position, what’s your view on that race weekend and the performance of the car?
George RUSSELL: Yeah, I definitely think it’s a reality check because Ferrari have clearly had a great chassis this whole season. Their power unit has been a bit behind us, quite a bit behind us, but suddenly in Barcelona they seem to have made a step forward. So, they were much closer to us in terms of their straight-line speed and, you know, they’re bringing a lot of upgrades, which has been quite surprising for us. You know, we’ve brought one upgrade this season so far. We’ve got some in the pipeline, but Ferrari and McLaren, every couple of races, are bringing bits to the car. So, you know, we need to keep on pushing and I think every time a team is bringing a new bit to the car, they’re making big steps forward.

Q: Nico, can we come to you now? Amid all the frustration of what happened in Monaco and Barcelona, what positives can you take from those races?
Nico HULKENBERG: I think just all in all, we’re making progress. The performance, you know, is there. We are competitive in the midfield and, you know, I feel both in Monaco and Barcelona, we were able to put it into the top 10 on merit. But yeah, both race weekends had circumstances that denied results on Sunday. I think, you know, I feel also on Sunday in Barcelona, we made life slightly difficult and hard for ourselves, but there are definitely positive signs. The car, if I compare it now to how it felt the first two, three races to where we are now, there’s definitely some good progress there. I think it’s just a matter of time and a matter of us putting it together and staying clean and staying focused.

Q: Checo, coming to you. Big weekend for the team here. You’ve got a substantial upgrade package. What are your hopes?
Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, we definitely want to make good progress. You know, we can see that we are getting closer towards the midfield, especially over a lap. I think still we are lacking quite a bit on the degradation side with the tyres. We are bringing an upgrade here that hopefully can get us even closer. Once we are there, you know, it’s all coming down to the little details. I think operationally the team has been improving quite a lot, making really big steps so far. So yeah, hopefully this upgrade can put us a lot closer.

‘Press Conference Transcript’;

https://www.fia.com/news/f1-2026-aus...nce-transcript

Pirelli expects one stop strategies at the Austrian Grand Prix despite heat and soft compounds
25 Jun 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

What does the past reveal about potential strategies? In 2025, most teams opted for two stops, with Soft and Medium tyres the preferred starting choices and the Hard compound used primarily for middle stints. This year, however, the tyre supplier expects the more robust behaviour of the compounds to open the door to longer stints, especially if track temperatures remain stable. High temperatures could push teams toward more conservative tyre management, while cooler spells or cloud cover may extend stint lengths and reinforce the one stop trend.

As teams prepare for another high intensity weekend in Spielberg, Pirelli’s early analysis suggests that tyre management will be less about wear and more about controlling temperatures and maintaining balance in the thin Alpine air. If conditions remain stable, a one stop race could become the strategic baseline—though, as always at the Red Bull Ring, the combination of short lap times, unpredictable weather and tight midfield gaps ensures that flexibility will be just as important as outright pace.

‘Pirelli expects’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28746

FIA declares heat hazard for Austrian Grand Prix
The FIA has activated Formula 1’s heat hazard rules for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix as Europe’s heatwave pushes temperatures at Spielberg into the thirties.
26 Jun 2026
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe

“In accordance with Article B1.5.10 of the FIA F1 Regulations, having received a forecast from the Official Weather Service predicting that the Heat Index will be greater than 31.0°C at some time during the Race at this Competition, a Heat Hazard is declared,” read a note from FIA F1 Race Director Rui Marques to teams. The ruling means teams must fit driver cooling systems to their cars for the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.

The system can feed cooled fluid through a fireproof vest worn beneath a driver’s race suit, though the vest itself remains optional. Drivers who choose not to wear the vest must instead carry 0.5kg of ballast in the cockpit to offset the weight difference.

The heat hazard rule was introduced after the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where several drivers suffered in extreme conditions and required medical attention after the race. Austria is the first race of the 2026 season to be placed under the heat hazard designation, with Singapore and the United States running under the same rule last season.

‘Teams must fit driver cooling systems’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2026-a...-cooling-vest/

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell set for Mercedes team orders
After seven rounds of no rules between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, Mercedes has decided to intervene.
25 June 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has revealed that he and George Russell will now be subject to team orders from Mercedes under one condition. "There was a meeting on the matter, and Toto was very clear," Kimi Antonelli said during an interview with Italian media, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

"If we find ourselves in a situation like Barcelona again, under pressure from our rivals, there will be a team order, especially if one of the two cars is showing better pace. If, on the other hand, we’re fighting each other without pressure from another team, we’ll be free to race, just as we were in Montreal."

‘Mercedes team orders’;

https://racingnews365.com/kimi-anton...es-team-orders

2026 Austrian Grand Prix start time: how to watch, live stream and F1 schedule
25 June 2026
Motor Sport
Motor Sport Magazine

Sky Sports F1 will carry every session live in Britain, with Channel 4 showing highlights of qualifying and the race for free. The grand prix gets underway at 2pm BST on Sunday June 28, but Saturday’s qualifying at 3pm is well worth your attention.

As a one-off, Apple is making the entire Austrian Grand Prix weekend available free to US viewers on Apple TV, with no subscription required. That includes practice, qualifying, and Sunday’s race, giving American fans a full view of F1’s new US broadcast set-up

‘How to watch’;

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/a.../?nowprocket=1