F1Weekly Podcast # 1154

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… GEORGE CLAWING HIS WAY BACK INTO CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION! MAX FINDS HIS MOJO IN AUSTRIA… KIMI STILL LEADING THE CHAMPIONSHIP FERRARI NOT AS QUICK AS PREVIOUSLY SUGGESTED AND FERNANDO SAYS…WE ARE IMPROVING!!! THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH MOTORS TV FOUNDER FREDERICK VIGER!!! SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JUNE 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (3) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Ford and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 battle for track position during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 28, 2026 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images) Verstappen Back On The Podium With Season-Best Second At The Austrian Grand Prix. Oracle Red Bull Racing's four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix, driving to second place in a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix that saw all four Red Bull drivers score points. After qualifying in fifth place following a crash in Saturday's Q3 shootout, the Dutchman made a great start to Sunday's race at a scorching Red Bull Ring, moving up to third early on, before engaging in an ever closer battle with eventual winner George Russell and his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the final third of the race. Russell held on to win by just +1.611s over Verstappen, who himself held off Antonelli for his best finish of the 2026 season to date by just +0.3s. Further down the order, Oracle Red Bull Racing's young pilot Isack Hadjar put the second RB22 into sixth place for the second successive Grand Prix, continuing his impressive debut season for the team. It was an equally impressive day for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, who celebrated the team's first double points-scoring Grand Prix of 2026 thanks to ninth and 10th place finishes for Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad. While Antonelli continues to lead the Drivers' Championship, Verstappen and Hadjar now sit seventh and eighth in the standings, with Lawson also inside the top 10 in 10th. QUOTES Oracle Red Bull Racing MAX VERSTAPPEN – 2nd “It was a very good race for us today. The first two laps were quite fun and the first half felt really good and fun to drive. Then, it was basically just about trying to manage our tyres, especially after the battles with Lewis. Something happened with the rear axle which made me lose pace, which is why I wasn't able to fight at the end. In hindsight we could have done the undercut to jump ahead and I think I had the degradation edge over George, but overall I am pleased with P2. We did some good racing and I didn’t expect us to be that strong against the Mercedes. "It was a great effort from the team: they have worked really hard to get the upgrades to the car, so thank you very much to everyone. It was better than expected and the race pace was a lot better than we thought. I didn't think we would fight for the win when I jumped in the car this morning, so to finish sitting here in the top three is a really positive result for us!" ISACK HADJAR – 6th "l was happy with my race start, it was a big improvement from Barcelona. Starting from eighth, we had a very aggressive race. I was running out of tyres at the end of my stints, so it was probably not the fastest race for me, but I still managed to gain two places. You could feel the upgrade in the race pace and I think we had the second quickest car today, so I was very happy with that. I still need to feel more comfortable in the car to extract the most from it, but it's the best race car we've had so far and it is delivering. I think on a cooler track, hopefully next week, we can be a bit more competitive again." LAURENT MEKIES – CEO & Team Principal "Our best result of the year. We produced a very strong performance this afternoon, without a doubt our strongest race of the season so far. The most satisfying element is the pace: I think Kimi was quickest today and Max was maybe a little bit quicker than George, but then your grid position also has an impact.  "In qualifying, it was clear how much progress we have made, even if the grid positions didn't reflect that. On what is a very difficult track, made even more demanding by the very hot conditions, we got very close to the sort of pace needed to win. That is a testament to how effective the work carried out back at the factory was. If you look back to the start of the season, we've managed to close the gap to the fastest from one second to around a couple of tenths. The fight is not over yet, with everyone continuing to bring updates, and we will need more to come from our side. Max was exceptional today in all phases of the race. We did not win, but we were lacking very little, maybe just hundredths of a second and it was certainly a good fight. "Isack also delivered another solid performance today, as he continues to make progress, so overall it’s a step in the right direction. It’s also worth noting that all four cars using the Red Bull Ford Powertrains finished in the points today." George Russell I’m really pleased with that result. It’s never straightforward around here and we were under pressure for much of the race, particularly in the final stint, so to convert pole into the win is very satisfying. The team did a great job with the strategy and gave me a car that I could manage well across the race. In those conditions, it’s about keeping things simple, focusing on just driving, and I think we executed that well today. It’s also great to score strong points together as a team. Kimi did a good job to recover and get himself back into the fight, which was important for the overall result. We know it’s very tight at the front and our competitors are pushing us hard, so we have to keep working to find more performance. For now, though, we can take the positives from this weekend and look ahead to Silverstone next week.