Following a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix, Formula 1 arrives at the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix. Here are the key discussion points as the competition at the front intensifies in Round 11 of the 2025 season…
More Piastri, Norris fireworks?
Lando Norris quickly took responsibility for his collision with teammate Oscar Piastri late in the Canadian Grand Prix, diffusing potential friction between the McLaren drivers.
“What happened happened and I regretted it at the time and apologised for it,” Lando Norris commented.
“Sadly, it`s also racing. I take it on the chin and I`ve got a move on. I`ve got to look at the next race and see how I can do a better job and not make those silly mistakes at times.”
“There`s a lot of positives and I`ll make sure to look at them and build on what I`ve got because once I get into a good rhythm I`m sure I will be very happy.”
The Red Bull Ring circuit has historically produced exciting races, featuring three consecutive DRS zones and significant braking zones leading into Turns 3 and 4.
Teammates have often battled closely here, recalling incidents like Nico Rosberg`s collision with Lewis Hamilton on the final lap in 2016, or Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez`s intense fight in the 2023 Sprint race.
With the McLaren drivers closely matched in pace, another on-track battle between them is likely this weekend, following their incident in Canada.
According to 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, “Now Norris knows what Piastri will do in the races. He won`t be surprised anymore.”
“Norris has generally been quicker in the races. He just needs to figure out qualifying because that`s been up and down but he still has the edge on speed. He`s behind in the points, so is more the underdog and that might help him.”
Norris, currently 22 points behind Piastri in the championship standings, has yet to secure back-to-back wins in the same season, despite having opportunities over the past year.
Austria was the site of Norris`s first F1 podium five years ago. With the British Grand Prix following next week (July 4-6), giving him home crowd support, these two tracks offer him a chance to build momentum.
Sky Sports F1`s Jenson Button commented, “This is the moment whether we see Lando is in a good mental place and whether he will come out of the other side strong.”
“I think he has in terms of being confident in his ability and putting it all out there, so I`m excited to see him move on.”
Verstappen continues to walk penalty tightrope but could pounce on McLarens
Max Verstappen expressed frustration regarding questions about a potential race ban, a threat that will lessen after the Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen has 11 penalty points on his super licence and if a driver reaches 12 points, they will be suspended for the next race weekend.
The Dutch driver avoided penalties in Canada but must do so again in Austria before two penalty points expire, as points are active for a rolling 12-month period.
How has Verstappen collected his 11 points?
- June 30, 2024 – 2 points – Causing a collision with Lando Norris in the Austrian GP
- October 27, 2024 – 2 points – Forcing Lando Norris off the track at the Mexico City GP
- November 2, 2024 – 1 point – Driving too fast under a Virtual Safety Car in the Sao Paulo Sprint
- November 30, 2024 – 1 point – Driving unnecessary slowly and impeding George Russell in Qatar GP qualifying
- December 8, 2024 – 2 points – Causing a collision with Oscar Piastri in the Abu Dhabi GP
- June 1, 2025 – 3 points – Causing a collision with George Russell in the Spanish GP
Verstappen holds a record of five wins at Red Bull`s home track. He might have won last year too, had it not been for a slow final pit stop that set up his intense clash with Norris, resulting in a collision.
In fact, the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix was arguably the last event Red Bull had the car to beat throughout the whole weekend as Verstappen took Sprint pole, the Sprint win and pole position.
While he has secured wins and poles since then, including at Suzuka and Imola this year, Red Bull has often needed significant performance gains between Friday and Saturday sessions.
The short Austrian track, with only seven braking zones, seems to inherently suit Red Bull`s car design across various regulations, although Christian Horner has tempered expectations.
“Probably our weakness at the moment is in the medium speed type of corners,” commented Horner.
“The middle sector, there`s a bit of medium speed there, so, we`ll see. I would expect, if it`s hot, McLaren to again be stronger.”
Verstappen reduced the gap to championship leader Piastri to 43 points by finishing second behind George Russell in Canada.
Even though the season hasn`t reached its halfway point, points gaps over 40 are seldom overcome. However, Sky Sports F1`s Martin Brundle believes Verstappen is “not out of the title fight at all”.
“If he gets beaten by George one weekend, Oscar the next weekend and Lando the weekend after that, it almost doesn`t matter, if he`s second or third,” added Brundle.
“He will nick some great wins, like we have already seen twice, and will always somehow pull a podium out of the bag as well. If his rivals start sharing out wins among themselves, he`s right in there.”
Can Russell repeat Canada triumph?
George Russell`s win in Montreal, Mercedes` first of the season, seemed assured. The question is whether this performance was specific to the track.
The W16 was suited to the circuit`s chicanes and kerbs. Despite expectations of struggling in warm conditions, Russell maintained his lead over Verstappen on a hot day, and Kimi Antonelli secured his first podium.
Mercedes introduced a new rear suspension in Canada, having skipped using it in Monaco and Spain due to uncertainties after its Imola debut.
Toto Wolff mentioned that matching wind tunnel data with real-world performance has been challenging for Mercedes, but he hopes the upgrade has addressed their rear overheating problems.
“The swings in performance are still there. We saw it last year. We were not even closer but then [at other races] we dominated the weekend,” stated Wolff.
“Austria is going to be a different ballgame, different track layout, different challenges, so all of our eyes and brains are concentrated on Austria now.”
Russell won the Austrian GP last year, capitalizing on the late collision between Verstappen and Norris. However, Mercedes lacked outright pace, finishing 15 seconds behind the leading pair.
The forecast for Spielberg is hot, with temperatures around 30C expected throughout the weekend. The circuit`s faster corners will provide a real challenge for the Mercedes car.
“Though we have made solid progress with our car in recent weeks, we know that we cannot expect this level of performance each and every weekend,” noted Wolff.
“The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with its absence of high-speed corners and a more closed tarmac that puts less stress on the tyres, suited the W16.”
“The team executed well and took advantage of that, but we know that our rivals will likely be much more competitive in Austria this weekend.”
Ferrari to bring Austria upgrades
Although Charles Leclerc briefly led the Canadian Grand Prix during the pit stop cycles, Ferrari once again found themselves off the pace on a circuit where they anticipated better performance.
Lewis Hamilton`s pace suffered after hitting a groundhog on his way to sixth, but Ferrari`s overall performance was still more than half a second slower than the front-runners.
“We are really in need of an upgrade and there`s lots of things that need to change for us to compete at the front,” commented Hamilton in Montreal.
“We have something hopefully coming next week [in Austria]. I don`t know if it`s much, how much it is. I don`t think it`s a lot. I just think it`s one of those years.”
Gilbert Pendleton 
Wesley Dunham