It was a warm weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, with plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing on show throughout the field and a fascinating strategic battle in a race weekend to remember.<\/p>\n
On the track, George Russell<\/a>‘s second win of the season closed the gap to championship leader Kimi Antonelli<\/a> to 40 points. It was a tight finish around the Red Bull Ring, with Max Verstappen<\/a> and Antonelli both within two seconds of the Briton as they crossed the line to complete another new 2026 podium, while Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton<\/a> enjoyed a fierce battle before Ferrari<\/a>‘s pace dropped away.<\/p>\n However, those weren\u2019t the only stories from the Austrian Grand Prix weekend \u2013 so here are some moments you may have missed…<\/p>\n Lauda’s legacy<\/p>\n There’s no better place to honour Austria’s greatest ever driver, three-time World Champion Niki Lauda<\/a>, than the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Before Sunday’s race, fans witnessed a very wholesome parade of cars with Niki’s son, Mathias, hopping into his father’s 1975 title-winning Ferrari 312T for a couple laps.<\/p>\n He wasn’t the only special guest in a special car, however \u2013 we also saw the Ferrari F2002, the Brabham BT52, the RB6, the Lotus 77, and the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34.<\/p>\n And who drove these iconic cars? Why F1 legends like David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber, and Jean Alesi \u2013 now that’s a crowd-pleasing line-up.<\/p>\n Dinner’s on us<\/p>\n It’s a busy time of year for everyone in F1 with the sport jumping around Europe before the summer break, so Austria proivided a nice chance for the annual drivers’ dinner courtesy of Stefano Domenicali.<\/p>\n The sit-down meal is always a great opportunity for the drivers to chill out and catch up on all things F1. As ever, fans have been pondering over the seating arrangement, which had to be expanded this year thanks to Cadillac<\/a> joining the grid, but it was great to see all 22 F1 drivers together for some quality time.<\/p>\n T-pose time<\/p>\n It’s not been the easiest start to the season for Russell, but the win at the Red Bull Ring has put him back on track for a possible title charge. And, of course, there was only one celebration to bring out after ending his run of poor luck and tricky results \u2013 the T-pose.<\/p>\n The outstretched arms returned before the Briton sprinted towards his Mercedes<\/a> team in parc ferme, who had plenty more to celebrate with Antonelli’s P3 extending their lead in the Constructors’ Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n Russell was also feeling nostalgic after his second win of the year, throwing back to his “Yabba-dabba do” team radio celebration as he crossed the line.<\/p>\n How many more times are we going to get the double celebration this season?<\/p>\n Jumping into the weekend<\/p>\n The fan stage has seen it all over the years, with crazy challenges and funny fan interactions, but this moment might have been a new one for F1. As Hamilton and Charles Leclerc<\/a> were taking questions, a bungee-jumping fan caught their attention.<\/p>\n Hamilton looked mortified, saying he had tried it once when he was younger and never wanted to do it again, but Leclerc was definitely up for giving it a go. It remains to be seen if Ferrari would be keen on any death-defying stunts by either of their star duo, but who knows, perhaps Leclerc will get his wish next year…<\/p>\n Prank wars heating up<\/p>\n A well-known subplot of this season is Antonelli’s prank battle with his Mercedes team that’s seen the driver, race engineer Pete Bonnington and other mechanics get caught up in a variety of practical jokes.<\/p>\n In Austria, the mechanics got the Italian first, tying his shoelaces up before the drivers’ dinner, leaving the 19-year-old little choice but to attend in his racing shoes.<\/p>\n Revenge was sweet for Antonelli however, as he grabbed his trusty water gun to spray the unsuspecting culprits in the garage.<\/p>\n With plenty of rounds left in 2026, who is going to come out on top in the prank war?<\/p>\n Ocon’s marvellous meet-up<\/p>\n You won’t find a bigger Marvel fan on the grid than Haas<\/a> driver Esteban Ocon<\/a>, so it’s safe to say that the Frenchman is super excited for the release of the new Spider-Man movie next month. That excitement will have only increased after Ocon met superhero actor Tom Holland before the weekend \u2013 just look at the smile on the 29-year-old’s face.<\/p>\n Ocon has shown his love of Marvel through two special helmets over the years, previously meeting Holland at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix \u2013 will there be any more special designs during the build-up to the new film?<\/p>\n Lovely lids<\/p>\n A setting as picturesque as the Styrian mountains deserved some helmets with some equally eye-catching visuals.<\/p>\n Verstappen has always prioritised this stretch of the European calendar for special lids, thanks to the incredible presence of the ‘Orange Army’ in Austria, Hungary and Belgium, and the ‘Orange Lion’ design paid tribute to the fans that have supported him throughout his career.<\/p>\n