Listen to Pit Talk now ><\/a><\/p>\nBut engine technical director Enrico Gualtieri has cautioned that this weekend\u2019s update isn\u2019t going to totally change the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe update we are bringing to Spielberg is a relatively minor one, and it\u2019s the result of the work completed in recent weeks to transfer improvements from our development program to the track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a championship as competitive as this one, it is unrealistic to expect a single update to transform the overall picture, especially under the current homologation and development constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n
He suggested an upgrade later this season or one of the two allowed for 2027 will comprise more significant hardware changes.<\/p>\n
But the upgrade doesn\u2019t have to change the world. Ferrari already proved that, in the right circumstances, it could win even with its old engine.<\/p>\n
A kilowatt boost also doesn\u2019t have to come exclusively from the engine architecture. Shell will reportedly bring an upgraded fuel to pair with the engine, which will pick up some of the slack.<\/p>\n
Combined with a chassis that rival teams already agree produces the most downforce \u2014 hence its victory at downforce-sensitive Barcelona \u2014 and a little could go a long way.<\/p>\n
Consider too that, on paper at least, Ferrari might be expected to be competing near the front this weekend anyway. The two key overtaking zones \u2014 at turn 3 and turn 4 \u2014 precede big traction events of the sort at which the Ferrari excels. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s also forecast to be hotter than in Spain, and Ferrari appears to have an effective advantage on tyre wear over the other frontrunners.<\/p>\n
This weekend is being set up as an important test of Ferrari\u2019s title bona fides, and conditions would appear to be favourable.<\/p>\n
Hamilton overcome after iconic victory | 01:27<\/p>\n
MERCEDES: STILL THE SEASON\u2019S BEST TEAM<\/p>\n
For all the optimism around Ferrari, we shouldn\u2019t forget that Mercedes has won six of the seven grands prix so far this season and leads both titles with Andrea Kimi Antonelli. With a 71-point constructors championship lead and a 41-point advantage in the drivers race, it\u2019s not exactly panic stations.<\/p>\n
But Mercedes is taking its Barcelona defeat seriously. The Spanish track has long been regarded as a benchmark circuit, and the fact it couldn\u2019t win there demonstrated that its advantage this season perhaps isn\u2019t as big as it looked at some of the preceding rounds at outlier circuits.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarcelona \u2026 offered a reality check,\u201d Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said. \u201cOthers have gained ground quickly, and we need to respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a fight for both championships but must improve if we want to come out on top come the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest question mark for Mercedes, though, is unreliability. The team has lost more points than other team \u2014 and any other engine manufacturer \u2014 thanks to two costly DNFs from the previous three grands prix.<\/p>\n
Combined with several problems for Mercedes-powered runners elsewhere on the grid, and the negative trend is clear \u2014 and potentially dire in the face of a surging Ferrari.<\/p>\n
Worse is that Austria has been a tough track for Mercedes in recent history.<\/p>\n
After winning four in a row in 2014\u201317, it memorably suffered a double DNF the following season, after which the track became a weak circuit relative to the team\u2019s otherwise dominant form elsewhere in the second half of the decade.<\/p>\n
The team seemed to struggle with a combination of the thinner air and higher temperatures at the circuit, with its cars, particularly in recent years, tending to prefer cooler climes.<\/p>\n
That cool-weather preference has so far appeared less pronounced in 2026, but the reliability question remains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not standing still in our efforts,\u201d Wolff said. \u201cWe will bring a few updates to Austria this weekend with a focus on improving both performance and reliability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe margins are tight and will be even tighter around Spielberg given the length of the lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to put together a better weekend than we have in recent races but if we can deliver to our maximum, then we know we can challenge for victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marquez reigns after Bezzecchi drama | 17:52<\/p>\n
RED BULL RACING: HAPPY AT HOME<\/p>\n
If Ferrari is the form team of the moment and Mercedes is the form team of the season, Red Bull Racing is the form team of the circuit, particularly with Max Verstappen behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Verstappen\u2019s five wins are unparalleled on any configuration of this circuit, made all the sweeter for them being at the circuit owned by his employer.<\/p>\n
Some of those wins have come despite prevailing relative form \u2014 as though thanks to a home-track advantage \u2014 and in a bid to keep that running, Red Bull Racing is bringing a hefty upgrade to the race.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the team\u2019s second major update of the season. Its previous big upgrade, brought to Miami, resulted in what at the time was by far its best qualifying result.<\/p>\n
Before the Miami upgrade, Red Bull Racing was on average 1.2 seconds off the pace in qualifying. Since then, however, it\u2019s been only 0.2 seconds adrift, a marked improvement, albeit a very close qualifying session in Monaco is bringing down that number.<\/p>\n
But even that slender margin hasn\u2019t brought the team quite to within striking distance. Results have been generally better but have remained frustratingly inconsistent.<\/p>\n
Team boss Laurent Mekies cautioned, however, against expecting a step as large as Miami this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubt that the Austrian package alone will not be enough,\u201d he said, per Autosport. \u201cWe know we\u2019ll have some further steps needed, but what is important is that, on that continuous closing-the-gap trajectory that we have been onto since post Japan, we continue to get closer, that we don\u2019t talk anymore about 0.4 seconds [estimated deficit to the front] but hopefully about less.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear what exactly the major update package comprises, but reports suggest the car is still overweight, and Autosport has reported the team intends to reach this year\u2019s minimum weight this weekend.<\/p>\n
Even if it doesn\u2019t make it, reducing weight is effectively free lap time, so any meaningful lightening will result in an automatically faster car this weekend.<\/p>\n
Add into the mix the free lap time the team seems to get with Verstappen behind the wheel \u2014 set your own figure on that one, but it\u2019s certainly not nothing \u2014 and Red Bull Racing suddenly presents as a more intimidating package at its home race.<\/p>\n
Allen claims Darwin win ahead of bday | 01:26<\/p>\n
McLAREN: HAPPY HUNTING GROUND<\/p>\n
Where does McLaren fit into the picture? The reigning title-winning team has been difficult to read this year.<\/p>\n
Despite a somewhat underwhelming weekend in Barcelona \u2014 Norris rescued a podium after Antonelli\u2019s retirement, with Oscar Piastri finishing a distant fifth after Leclerc\u2019s retirement \u2014 there were some signs that it\u2019s still on an improving trajectory.<\/p>\n
In Miami, where it brought its first major upgrade, it ended up roughly on par with Mercedes. It struggled in chilly Canada and low-energy Monte Carlo, but at representative Spain, Norris was again close enough to Mercedes to be a threat. It\u2019s just that Ferrari managed to jump both teams.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not great, but it\u2019s not terrible either.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a bad starting place for the Red Bull Ring, where Norris in particular has been reliably quick.<\/p>\n
Spielberg is his highest-scoring circuit, with a career 108 points from three podiums and a victory.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been outqualified by a teammate only once, and he\u2019s never finished behind a teammate in a grand prix when he\u2019s seen the chequered flag.<\/p>\n
That sizzling run of form culminated in a dominant pole by 0.521 seconds last year and an assured victory, even if Piastri pushed him all the to the finish line.<\/p>\n
McLaren in general has tended to perform well at this circuit \u2014 Piastri has a couple of podium finishes in Austria as well \u2014 leaving it optimistic that it could be in the fight.<\/p>\n
There\u2019ll be focus on some minor upgrades this weekend given McLaren\u2019s development pipeline stumbled over a new front wing brought to Miami that raced for the first time in Spain owing to correlation issues.<\/p>\n
Of further interest, though, is what the team is describing as an \u201cexperimental\u201d rear wing to be used during Friday practice. It\u2019s widely expected to be McLaren\u2019s take on the rotating rear wing first deployed by Ferrari and since used by Red Bull Racing, but it isn\u2019t expected to race with it for several more grands prix.<\/p>\n
Fast slipping out of the title fight, particularly in light of Ferrari\u2019s big gains, a big result at a friendly circuit wouldn\u2019t go astray \u2014 particularly ahead of the team and Norris\u2019s home race in Silverstone next weekend.<\/p>\n
Waters slammed over ‘DANGEROUS’ move | 02:14<\/p>\n
THE CURVE BALLS: ALTITUDE SICKNESS<\/p>\n
The Red Bull Racing, set among the Alps, sits at an altitude of 678 metres above sea level \u2014 high enough to have an appreciable effect on the cars.<\/p>\n
The air is around 7.25 per cent thinner at the Red Bull Ring, and the forecast top temperature of 33\u00b0C exacerbates the air scarcity.<\/p>\n
Altitude differences used to mean much more in the era of naturally aspirated engines, which produced less power \u2014 and ran hotter \u2014 with less air being taken in.<\/p>\n
That problem was lessened with the reintroduction of turbochargers, which took on additional workload to keep up engine air pressure.<\/p>\n
That puts a focus on turbo performance \u2014 and there are some key differences in turbocharger design this year.<\/p>\n
Ferrari\u2019s small turbo, for example, will have less lag in the thinner air than the larger turbos used by other teams, which could be a powerful weapon out of the corners this weekend. However, that comes at the expense of the turbo potentially maxing out before the end of the straights when larger units could keep pressing on.<\/p>\n
That we\u2019re talking about turbo lag at all, though, is because of this year\u2019s removal of the MGU-H, the hybrid device that kept the turbo spooled up in 2014\u201325.<\/p>\n
Just as is the case at the starts this year, the removal of the MGU-H has made the engine less refined and clunkier \u2014 though that means we\u2019ll see more differences between engines.<\/p>\n
Teams can choose to use the hybrid motor to help fill in the turbo lag out of the corners, but that would cost it power at the end of the straights, creating an interesting strategic question.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the cooling constraints in the thinner air, which will be exacerbated by the high forecast temperature this weekend \u2014 hot enough for the FIA to declare a heat hazard this weekend, which requires drivers to either use their cooling vests or carry the weight of a cooling system in ballast.<\/p>\n
As for the car, cooling apertures will have to be opened, which comes at the cost of less downforce and more drag.<\/p>\n
These are just some of the reasons the Austrian Grand Prix is one of the widest open races on the calendar.<\/p>\n
Good luck picking the winner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Austrian Grand Prix could be the most open race of the entire season \u2014 and that\u2019s before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-760460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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