George Russell secured his second win of the season and seventh of his career at the 2026 Austrian GP. Briton also leapfrogged his former teammate, Hamilton, in second place in the World Drivers Championship (WDC).
Max Verstappen also achieved the personal best result of the season so far, finishing second despite some issues with his RB22. Cadillac and Williams are enduring a very difficult season, with both squads facing different issues.
We discuss some of the moments which stood out from the 2026 Austrian GP in The Sports Side’s Biggest Hits and Misses format.
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Hit: George Russell
George Russell secured his second win of the season and seventh of his career at the 2026 Austrian GP.
After the disastrous Canadian GP, in which he was not able to finish, George Russell was very disappointed and seemed to have completely lost hope, as he said the championship was Antonelli’s to lose. Then, in Barcelona, on paper it was a better result for Russell as he finished P2 just behind Hamilton, while Antonelli was unable to finish the race.
Despite finishing in P2, he struggled a lot. His win in Austria is not as dominant as he would have wanted it to be, but it will still help boost his confidence, as he said in the post-race media talk.
“More than just the result, psychologically it’s been a tough few races for me, and I’ve had a huge amount of support which has really helped me stay resilient and continue to believe in myself,” he said while reflecting on the psychological impact of the previous races.
“That is perhaps what I’m most proud about from these last two races.” the 28-year-old added. This win puts him second in the WDC and 40 points behind his teammate and championship rival.
Miss: Kimi Antonelli
After the Barcelona GP exit, this was the race where Antonelli had to make a comeback, as the points buffer between him and the second-place driver was becoming thin. He finished third in Austria, and the points buffer between him and second place remains the same.
He is featured in “Miss” because it was a winnable race, as he himself admitted in the media talk, as he had some issues with his brakes in the opening laps. Overall, he still has the most pace on the grid, so he shouldn’t be too worried.
Hit: Max Verstappen
It was Red Bull’s spiritual home race, and they brought significant aerodynamic upgrades, which yielded results as Verstappen finished second, just 1.6 seconds behind the winner.
This was also important for Red Bull, as heading into the summer break, like most drivers, the Dutchman would also be thinking about his future.
These upgrades will definitely help Red Bull show Verstappen that the team is on the right track, and he might stay with them.
Miss: Ferrari
Ferrari’s 2026 journey seems like one step forward, two steps back. After a remarkable run in Barcelona, where they secured their first win of the season, they brought power unit upgrades to Austria.
Hamilton, who won the previous race, finished P5, 26.3 seconds behind winner Russell. Charles Leclerc’s struggles continued, as he finished 19 seconds behind his teammate. There weren’t any visible issues with the car to explain this.
Mercedes team principal made a comment on his rivals’ struggles: “They didn’t look at all like they did in Barcelona.”
