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Mercedes' rivals have thrown their proverbial kitchen sinks at the Silver Arrows in recent weeks with barrages of upgrades. But while Lewis Hamilton's pace towards the end of the Barcelona race may have been alarming, Mercedes swiftly re-established its lead in Spielberg to dampen hopes of a genuine title battle stretching beyond Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
That is especially good news for Russell, who found himself with his back against the wall following a string of bad luck combined with Antonelli's superior form. Antonelli's own misfortune in Spain brought the gap down to 50 points and Russell's faultless pole-to-flag win made another dent as he aims to get his title campaign back on the rails.
Given he had to lift for a yellow flag, Russell's pole lap on Saturday could have been a lot quicker still, likely stretching beyond four tenths on the very short Red Bull Ring. That's ominous news for Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, who are going to need a lot more to challenge on a regular basis.
- Filip Cleeren
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Red Bull's upgrades delivered the desired stepFor a couple of months it had been clear Red Bull was targeting a major step forward with a significant upgrade at its home race in Spielberg - not only to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, but also to show its star driver it still has what it takes to fight for victories.
Team boss Laurent Mekies never suggested the package would eliminate the deficit to its rivals in one go, but he did expect it to bring Red Bull much closer. Featuring multiple aerodynamic revisions, the upgrade is also believed to have reduced the car's weight further, bringing it down to the minimum permitted by the regulations.
It's fair to say it delivered exactly what Red Bull had hoped for - if not more. Max Verstappen was in contention for pole before crashing in qualifying. Starting only fifth, he was still able to fight the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers and, whenever he had clean air, consistently lapped quicker than them during the race.
Victory was on the cards - and while it did not happen, Red Bull clearly achieved the goal of starting to close the gap. Verstappen is perhaps satisfied with the progress, too. To make him truly happy, though, Red Bull will need to take one more step.
- Oleg Karpov
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
Ferrari's power unit upgrade wasn't enoughBarcelona wasn't the start of a new trend, after all. Ferrari hasn't suddenly become the team to beat in 2026, and Austria - despite similarly scorching temperatures - came as something of a cold shower for the Scuderia's supporters and perhaps even for the team itself, despite Fred Vasseur's efforts to manage expectations after Lewis Hamilton's victory in Spain.
Finishing behind both Mercedes drivers, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri was not the result Ferrari had hoped for in Spielberg - especially after introducing an upgraded power unit.
A strategic misstep with Hamilton didn't help, but Ferrari simply wasn't quick enough on Sunday to keep its fans dreaming of a title fight.
- Oleg Karpov
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Piastri limits damage but McLaren faces reality check in AustriaMcLaren looked like the second best team during Friday's long runs, but the papaya squad flattered to deceive when it mattered, being the fourth quickest team in qualifying.
Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were also well off the pace during the first stint of the race, with it telling that Norris couldn't up his pace in clear air after Piastri had pitted.
As Ferrari ran into overheating issues and found out the hard way that the hard tyre was the one ideal compound to be on, its mid-race collapse somewhat let McLaren off the hook as Piastri, who drove a very strong race, claimed fourth.
But crucially, Red Bull appears to have leapfrogged McLaren on pure pace. With Ferrari bringing a huge upgrade package in Spain, and Red Bull transforming the RB22 in Austria, it is clear that McLaren will have to up the ante as well if it is to keep up with its rivals, never mind reclaim ground on the leading Mercedes. As team boss Andrea Stella said, the team will have to up the "intensity" of its development plan back at the factory.
- Filip Cleeren
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Aston Martin's B-spec will have to be a real game changerTo the surprise of nobody, Aston Martin endured an especially difficult weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
On one of the shortest laps on the calendar, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were once again a long way off the pace, qualifying almost a second behind the slower of the two Cadillacs, a team that introduced a substantial upgrade package in Austria.
The race offered little encouragement either. Alonso was unable to match the pace of a struggling Alex Albon even after switching to a fresh set of soft tyres, while Stroll retired after running at the back throughout the race.
Aston Martin has made it clear that its focus is not on bringing small, incremental updates. Instead, the team is pinning its hopes on a major upgrade package scheduled to arrive at Spa in mid-July.
However, judging by the current performance of Adrian Newey's AMR26, further compromised by Honda's power unit, there is little doubt those upgrades will have to deliver an enormous step forward if its drivers are to challenge anyone other than each other.
- Federico Faturos
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