Max Verstappen delivered his strongest result of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Austrian Grand Prix, finishing second after battling for victory throughout the race. While Red Bull’s resurgence caught the attention of many observers, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella and reigning world champion Lando Norris insist they were not surprised to see the Milton Keynes-based team back at the front.
Red Bull back in contention for victories
During the previous Formula 1 regulations, McLaren and Red Bull established themselves as the benchmark teams, sharing the world championship titles between them. The arrival of the all-new 2026 technical regulations initially pushed both teams backwards, but recent races suggest that both outfits are now finding their way back toward the front of the grid.
Perhaps that progress has come too late to realistically revive their championship ambitions, but it may still be early enough for both teams to fight regularly for Grand Prix victories during the remainder of the season.
McLaren was the first of the two to recover, collecting four podium finishes so far this year, evenly split between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
In Austria, however, Red Bull also returned to the sharp end of the field. Max Verstappen secured an impressive second-place finish, splitting the two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while demonstrating that he had the pace to challenge for victory.
That return to competitiveness did not surprise McLaren, despite ongoing speculation linking Verstappen with a possible future move to the Woking-based team. Speaking to reporters after the Austrian Grand Prix, both Andrea Stella and Lando Norris made it clear they fully expected Red Bull to become competitive again.
Upgrades and resources make the difference
“I’m not surprised that Red Bull is back fighting for victories because, if you look at the amount of development they brought to the car here in Austria, it’s no surprise they’ve found a few tenths of a second,” Stella explained after the race.
“On our side, we know we’re probably still missing three or four tenths of a second, and we see that both in qualifying and in the race. We tend to observe more or less the same pattern across different circuits, so the picture is very consistent, and we know exactly what we need to do at this stage.”
Lando Norris was equally unsurprised to see Max Verstappen back on the podium at the Red Bull Ring.
“They’re still Red Bull. They’re still an incredible team, and it’s not like they were performing badly before,” the reigning Formula 1 world champion said. “They’re still capable of producing excellent performances, and they were already on the podium in Montreal, so it’s not as though they had a bad car. They just struggled at a few races. Let’s wait and see what happens over the next few Grands Prix, but they’ve done a good job, so full credit to them.”
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