Excellent second place for Max in Austria: 'Extremely positive for us'

Published on 28 June 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen finished second in the Austrian Grand Prix. After a strong opening stint in which the four-time world champion pulled off three impressive overtakes, Max spent most of the race chasing George Russell. In the end, he crossed the line just one and a half seconds behind, with the Mercedes driver claiming victory at the Red Bull Ring. Kimi Antonelli completed the podium in third place.

"I think it was of course a very good race for us. The first few laps were quite fun, and after that it was basically about managing the tyres. I think the car was in quite a good window for the first half of the race, but afterwards we ran into a few issues. That prevented me from finding a nice rhythm. But still, to finish second and come so close to winning is extremely positive for us. Looking at it that way, I am very happy."

In the sweltering heat at the Red Bull Ring, it was time for the Austrian Grand Prix. The entire grid started on the medium compound, with just two exceptions. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) opted for the soft tyres. When the lights went out shortly after 3pm, the front-runners all got away well. The opening lap passed without incident, although Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) ran wide on several occasions. Max also made a strong start, holding on to fifth place. On lap two, Antonelli ran wide again while battling Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). Max took advantage by overtaking the Italian and, in the same move, also getting past Leclerc. That promoted him behind George Russell (Mercedes) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who retained first and second place respectively. Cadillac's race, meanwhile, was over after only a few laps. Both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez reported smoke coming from their cars and were forced to retire early.

Over the following laps, Antonelli piled the pressure on Leclerc. After several unsuccessful attempts, the Italian finally made the move stick on lap seven, moving up into fourth place. Max also began to close in on Hamilton. On lap 11, the two world champions enjoyed a thrilling battle, running side by side through several corners. Hamilton just managed to stay ahead, but pitted one lap later for his first stop, switching to the hard tyres and rejoining in eleventh place. Team-mate Leclerc followed a lap later, opting for another set of medium tyres.

On lap 18, Max made his first pit stop. Oracle Red Bull Racing executed a clean stop, allowing him to rejoin just behind Hamilton. Russell stopped a lap later, emerging one and a half seconds ahead of Hamilton, leaving the virtual podium covered by less than three seconds. On lap 22, the second chapter of the Hamilton versus Verstappen battle began. Max passed Lewis at Turn 3, but the Brit fought back at Turn 4. The four-time world champion refused to give in, however, and, in full view of the Dutch fans in the Verstappen grandstand, made a surprise move around the outside at Turn 6. That elevated Max to third place, behind Russell. Antonelli was still leading but had yet to make his pit stop.

Antonelli eventually pitted on lap 24, but at exactly the same moment Sainz came to a halt on the main straight. His engine failed in the final corner, bringing his race to an end. Antonelli was unfortunate, as the Virtual Safety Car was only deployed after he had exited the pit lane. His stop dropped him back to fifth. Hamilton made his second stop on lap 26, fitting the soft tyres. Thanks to the VSC, he lost less time and rejoined in seventh place. A lap later, Sainz's stricken car had been cleared away and racing resumed under green flag conditions.

Following the Virtual Safety Car, Max resumed his pursuit of Russell. Lap after lap he chipped away at the gap, and by lap 43 he was within 1.2 seconds of the race leader. Russell responded by pitting on the following lap, switching to the hard tyres and rejoining in third place. Max stayed out a little longer, making his second stop on lap 49. He also fitted the hard compound and set off in pursuit of the Brit, facing an 11-second deficit with 21 laps remaining. Antonelli made his final stop on lap 51, meaning all of the top five had now completed their last pit stops. With 20 laps to go, Russell led from Max and Antonelli, while Oscar Piastri and Hamilton completed the top five.

After the final round of pit stops, Max once again set about chasing Russell. Behind him, Antonelli launched his own pursuit of second place. With a lap and a half remaining, the Italian closed to within one second of Verstappen, while the Dutchman still trailed Russell by 2.5 seconds. Antonelli came very close to Max on the final lap but was unable to mount a genuine attack. Russell took the chequered flag to win by 1.6 seconds from Verstappen. The four-time world champion crossed the line with just three tenths of a second in hand over Antonelli, securing an excellent second-place finish.

Results Grand Prix Austria: