Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, speaking after Sunday's Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, attributed Red Bull's pace in the race not primarily to a major upgrade package for the car, but to Max Verstappen's driving skill. Starting from fifth place, Verstappen rose to become George Russell's closest challenger, finishing just 1.6 seconds behind him.
According to Wolff, the player who makes the difference is Verstappen.
Red Bull arrived in Austria with a comprehensive upgrade package, aiming to break the dominance of Mercedes and Ferrari in recent races. While Wolff acknowledged that the package delivered the expected performance boost, he emphasized that the real deciding factor was something else. When asked if he was surprised that Red Bull emerged as the main contender instead of Ferrari, Wolff replied: “I wasn’t surprised at all. Red Bull is a factor, of course, but the main issue was Max Verstappen himself. The feeling was: Max has won every race on this track, regardless of which car he drives. Spielberg is one of his strong tracks. The car looked good too; I don’t know what happened to the Ferraris.”
Verstappen's record at the Red Bull Ring is truly remarkable: the Dutch driver has achieved a total of five Formula 1 victories at this track, including both the Steyermark and Austrian Grand Prix in 2021.
Is Verstappen included in the championship calculation?
When asked about Verstappen's position in the championship race, Wolff adopted a more cautious approach. He jokingly responded to the question of whether the Dutchman could at least score points and potentially shift the gap between the leaders, saying, "That might be a thought George Russell had," implying that the matter was being exaggerated. He then added a more serious assessment: "Max can always play a decisive role in the championship. The car performed well this weekend; however, the biggest factor of the week, to be honest, was Max himself. He pulls everything out of the car. You can clearly see that when compared to his teammates. So the Verstappen factor should never be underestimated or ignored."“
Looking at the championship standings after the Austrian GP, Kimi Antonelli is in the lead. The Italian, who finished the race in third place, is 40 points ahead of Russell. Lewis Hamilton has dropped to third place with an additional six points. Verstappen achieved his second podium of the season, moving up to seventh place in the overall standings; however, he remains 98 points behind leader Antonelli.