Mercedes F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff said Max Verstappen’s podium at the 2026 Austrian GP came as no surprise. He insisted that the result at the Red Bull Ring was never about the car and always about the driver.
George Russell won the eighth round of the 2026 F1 World Championship at Spielberg on Sunday. He converted pole position into a controlled victory to claim his second win of the season. Verstappen started fifth.
He produced one of the drivers of the year as he sliced through the field, battling past Lewis Hamilton in the first stint and finishing just 1.6 seconds behind Russell in second. Kimi Antonelli completed a Mercedes 1-3. Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who had started third and second on the grid respectively, could only salvage fifth and eighth for Ferrari.
Wolff not surprised by Verstappen at the F1 Austrian GP
The result prompted immediate question about whether Red Bull’s significant upgrade package could make Verstappen a genuine title threat. Wolff was unmoved, but not dismissive.
“I’m not surprised at all. Red Bull is one thing, but it was Max Verstappen. And for me, how it feels is like Max won every single race here that he’s ever participated in, in whatever car. So Spielberg is one of his strong places. The car seems to have been going well. And the Ferraris, I don’t know what happened to them.”
Verstappen holds the outright record for wins at the Red Bull Ring, with five victories across the last decade. Spielberg has simply always suited him – and Sunday was another reminder of that, regardless of machinery.
The championship picture
Meanwhile, Ferrari’s afternoon raised bigger questions about the title fight. Hamilton had arrived in Austria riding the momentum of his maiden Ferrari win in Barcelona. He left fifth, leapfrogged by Russell in the standings. Russell now sits second on 131 points, with Antonelli leading on 171.
Wolff was pressed on whether Red Bull’s step forward at the F1 Austrian GP could make Verstappen a factor in the title race, and whether his knack for extracting points off rivals could yet benefit Mercedes.
“I think this could be a George Russell over complication. Max [Verstappen] is always good for playing a role in a championship. That car performed well this weekend. I think the biggest factor was Max [Verstappen], to be honest, and he’s able to wring out everything that is in that car. You can see that with his teammates, and that’s why you can never discount or underestimate the [Max] Verstappen factor for a championship.”
Isack Hadjar ran the same machinery on Sunday and finished sixth, 28 seconds behind Verstappen at the flag. Red Bull closed ground in Austria, but Verstappen remains the reason Sunday looked as good as it did, according to the Austrian.
Whether the upgrades hold up at Silverstone, Spa and Hungary remains to be seen.
