Red Bull’s Formula 1 trip to their home turf in Austria ended with zero points. Max Verstappen retired after just two corners, while Yuki Tsunoda finished at the back of the field. There is a strong sense of frustration in Milton Keynes, especially as the junior team, Racing Bulls, managed a sixth place thanks to Liam Lawson’s impressive drive. This is the same driver Red Bull demoted to the junior squad, believing he was not ready for the top level.
Horner Can’t Explain It
The team led by Christian Horner had to cope with another disappointing day. Yuki Tsunoda, driving the only RB21 to finish, ended last after receiving a penalty for contact with Franco Colapinto. Horner described some car performances during the race as “anomalous,” highlighting the unpredictability of the final outcome.
What stood out were the lap times and race pace, with George Russell — winner of the previous race — finishing over a minute behind Lando Norris. Meanwhile, the junior teams and Sauber scored points, challenging Russell’s W16. According to Horner, the true competitive order was unclear, and he was stunned by the overall weak performance across the weekend.
Even in qualifying, despite Max Verstappen being unlucky with a yellow flag, he saw his recent teammate qualify ahead of him. Max himself admitted that McLaren was about six-tenths faster on a single lap. It seemed like a resignation, with Canada appearing as only a brief exception when the McLaren MCL39 underperformed.
Bad Luck Didn’t Help
The most critical moment of Sunday was Max Verstappen’s early retirement due to a collision with Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes on the first lap. The Belgian driver started well but became the unfortunate cause of Max’s immediate exit. Kimi was penalized with a three-place grid drop for the next race after promptly apologizing to Verstappen.
Horner said bad luck played a decisive role in compromising Max Verstappen’s race, noting that Max had made no mistakes on the opening lap. The reigning champion got off to a good start and gained positions before being taken out unexpectedly in turn three. Horner emphasized that such an early exit made it nearly impossible to chase the world title.
After the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen trails the championship leader, Australian Oscar Piastri, by 61 points. Although many points remain available this season, considering McLaren’s dominance, catching up looks extremely challenging.
When asked about Max Verstappen’s real chances, Christian admitted that closing the gap is unrealistic, though in F1 nothing is guaranteed, and the fight isn’t over until the math says so.
Praise for Former Employee
The weekend did not start well for Verstappen. Although he was third fastest in the final practice, his qualifying was compromised by a yellow flag that interrupted his last fast lap, preventing him from improving his time. This forced him to start seventh on the grid, just ahead of Antonelli, who suffered the same issue.
Christian Horner also praised Liam Lawson, who was demoted to the junior team to make room for Yuki Tsunoda. Liam Lawson delivered solid driving and a well-managed strategy that earned a valuable sixth place for Racing Bulls. Christian Horner expressed bitter regret, saying that without Verstappen’s crash, the battle with Ferrari on track would have been intense.
That said, it was hard to imagine Max Verstappen’s RB21 matching the pace of the SF-25s. Red Bull’s near future looks challenging: recovering the points deficit with Max losing ground will be tough. The title fight risks turning into an internal McLaren duel, as the team showed remarkable consistency and competitiveness in Austria.
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