My 2026 Austrian Grand Prix F1 Race Report
Video Overview & Insights
The 2026 Formula 1 Season is here, and it's Round 8. We had a fantastic run around the Spielberg mountains, and George Russell took the win ahead of a resurgent Max Verstappen & Kimi Antonelli. Let's get into all of the details, plus Bangers & Clangers as per usual. My name's Tommo, let's talk about it.
If Tsolov was going to f1 he would be doing fp1's . . .he has the points and races under his belt but no fp1s ??
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TOMMO'S RACE CHINWAG PODCAST:
Liams brakes were overheating . . . As was his engine . Gearbox . . Tires . And patience
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😅 all that work for 3 points . . Yes hard work . . A reminder that 1st used to be only 9 points and paid to 6th . . . . . Take care till the next one . Bye from NZ🍻👋. .
Go Liam👍🇳🇿🏁
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SOCIALS:
Arvid only got past Liam because he disobeyed team orders . . . He was told to ease off for cooling and tires . . Liam lifted as he was asked asking if he would be "attacked" by Arvid and was told no he would hold position . . He didnt . . . That is why they undercut him . . He was also told to hold position after the 2nd pitstop . . Which he did . . .
Ignoring team orders to get passed is not great driving . . . He risked not only his engine and brakes through over heating , where he passed could of taken out both of them . . .
. Team first. . .
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Do you think Weeyums are done and dusted and might as well call it a day and turn off the light? Because nothing seems to help. Sometimes, it looks as if there were a group of designers and/or engineers who deliberately work towards making the car shite.
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I think we can safely say now that, yes, Hadjar is the strongest teammate Max has had since Danny Ric. It's a product of the cars being reset and not so heavily tailored for Max, but still, the pace doesn't lie. If Red Bull can keep Hadjar around, he'll be a steady pair of hands in a couple of years, no doubt.
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13:08 in this instance, I think Kimi reacted, appropriately. He saw Max go off crack in front of him and hit the wall, and rightfully assumed it should’ve gone immediately to a double yellow. That was the safe thing to do, and frankly that is what was within the rules, because as we saw with George, he was going to fast to assess the situation or to be able to change your direction if needed, so he was not following even a single yellow flight procedure. It’s unfortunate that the driver who was concerned for other drivers safety is the one who lost out, but we’ve seen Max give up for on several occasions for the same situation.
#TommoF1 #AustrianGP
12:45 initially, I did defend George on this, because it appeared, he did play to the rules of single yellow flag. However, after listening to him in the press conference, I don’t believe he did. Under a single yellow drivers must lift and be prepared to change direction (ie be cautious and aware of their surroundings). George admitted that he was going so fast that he did not even see Max in the wall, despite his engineer, telling him where Max went off and Max being fully visible on his onboard camera. He then continued by saying he just assumed that Max must’ve continued on since he didn’t see him, and that the flag was no longer necessary. This is a completely irresponsible and inappropriate response to a yellow flag. To be going so fast that you are not able to spot the danger, is not in a position to change direction immediately. If he had said, I spotted Max in the wall, very far from the track, and determined it was safe to continue on setting the pole lap, that would be a very different story. By his own admission, he was not aware of the accident or paying attention to potential danger. I think this is extremely irresponsible, especially for the driver representative to the FIA. I would’ve respected him a lot more if he had said, “I spotted Max, determined it was safe to continue, and I think that we should review the FIA policy for single versus double yellow flag, for driver safety”. However, he was so selfishly concerned about losing his lap time, that he didn’t even consider the ramifications of his actions.
Consider if Max had for instance, hit oil on the track, which is what caused him to go off in that high speed corner. Because George was barreling along, not even aware of his surroundings, he would’ve gone off in the exact same spot with the potential of seriously injuring or even killing Max. That is completely unacceptable.
More User Perspectives
The implication is not that Russel cheated. The inplication (and my own personal belief) is that Mercedes cheated, by having indluence in the FIA which purposely allowed George (and Kimi if he had realised) to finish their laps
@checkmate186024:35 😂😂
@Duval-In-The-WallIt’s funny being a George fan this year after being a Lando hater last year. Like damn… I get it now.
@jeremytewari334642:17 How does Oscar finish ahead of both Ferraris, but McLaren are behind Ferrari on average race pace? That doesn't math 😅
@gamesetmatt23Is this hype thing actually helping the videos?
@cosmokramer5042Would love to see you do another video once you've looked more into the Racing Bulls civil war. It doesn't make Lindblad look too good at all.
@GladiatorKnightGhostThat double overtake was something else. Thread the needle!
@Molzie433Thought the low point for LeClerc's season so far came at turn 3. Piastri bullied him then Hamilton took advantage as well. It looked more like they were overtaking a back marker.
@thatsbollox11:55 Williams fan here, fine by me! 😂
@jackcarrington1913Q1 - Lawson was P4 - Finished well in Q2 - Q3 robbed of his final lap due to Max Verstappens crash!
@Decency4allArvid needs to take some lessons from Lawson on what it means to and how to be a team player. Take a look back ton Monaco 2025. Lawson set Hadjar up for his best performance holding the field up, following team orders to allow his 2nd pit stop to retain his position. Lawson manages his tyres extremely well way beyond his years of experience, drives the lines that make him hard to pass. Unfortunately Liam did not get the preseason in 2025 like Kimi did. Not enough time top adjust to the car due to issues beyond his control. Compare tp Hadjar who has had a complete off season build up is now starting to go better. Then take on Verstappen not liking the decision to demote Liam. Verstappen recognises Liams extreme,e ability to defend a driving line and himself has found him hard to pass at times. Max values this and knows the protection Liam could offer as the second Red Bull driver. Last year Racing Bulls had their best ever team, result and is looking to repeat over better this in 2026. Common denominator is Lawson. Would like to see how he goes in a top F1 team. Just ask Max.
@Decency4allFelt for the Ferrari lads u could just see half way down each straight they had no battery. Onto Silverstone 😅
@tomcannon5106btw, just so we are clear. there was always going to be a single yellow BEFORE it would turn into a double yellow, which is what happened. The car was far clear of the racing surface and no marshals were on track. It was always going to be that way. there was no reason to wave double yellow immediately because there was no clear and present danger to any of the drivers
@thewingedserpent5823Should have been a double yellow. If George had gone off in the same spot there could have been a bad collision.
@briannamarcroft1298Tommo, max crash was not his fault but a mechanical failure
@ginomone1878Can you not put images or teasers spoiling the result of the races. It’s really annoying and obnoxious to people who haven’t see the races yet
@PuketapuWhen HAM or LEC wins, the immediate news is Ferarri is back, world champion is ready to grab. When VER gets a podium, Red Bull is back. CHILL guys.... This year Merc is still the best car overall.
@BadakTigashould have, would have, could have.
my goat won, thats all i need baby
YABADABADOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
If Red Bull says it's a technical error, and then says it's damn Max's fault 😅😅😅😅
@eugenecia9424im glad to see red bull back at the front with one of their cars but this reactive bs (Ferrari in spain) seems very counter productive, we arent even at the summer break, tons of teams still are yet to bring updates and merc still have a upgrade credit to use... RB are on the path but to say they are in it feels like a massive stretch. their strat teams really needs to reflect on this weekend!
@Bad_RidersWhenever Hamilton beats Leclerc people just attribute it to troubles with Leclerc's car.
@justinwalpole8956Linblad ended up kinda looking like a bit of a muppet after this race. He ignored team orders twice not to attack Liam while Liam was instructed to drive slowly to get his breaks into the right window. Once he got past, Liam just sat on his bumber as he had way more pace and just waited for the next pitstop to make the pass. Then in the post race interview Arvid tried to accuse the team of "giving" Liam the undercut. Its the second time this year Arvid has ignored team orders to overtake Liam only to lose the place anyway (China)
The onboard battle and radio was pretty dramatic. Gutted they didn't show Liams double overtake on Linblad and Bearman, Im sure it will show up on socials at somepoint.
Didnt we think Lewis was back too 😭😭 (he is but damn a little too soon for redbull)
@oceanicblaze-o_b-9752Arvid only got past Lawson by defying team orders. They were both asked to lico to optimize their races, but Arvid ignored it
@beckhamalzThe amount of people that let a personal dislike for George as a person get in the way of objectivity is ridiculous. It sucks that this kind of tribalism is now normal in F1.
I initially thought it was a slam dunk lap deletion on first viewing, but once they went to the Sky Pad all became clear. Can't fault George for the FIA flying the wrong flag when he got there. Same way you can't fault Max for the way the FIA handled the safety car at AD 2021, or Lewis for how the FIA handled crashgate in 2008. Just because a driver benefits from the FIA being shit or making a certain decision doesn't mean they are directly at fault for it or should be getting hate for playing to the whistle.
Also, weird for some people to complain about George not acknowledging how lucky he got in quali when those same people were so quick to jump on him having a few stinky races without acknowledging the bad luck he received in them. I'm not a George fan but the difference in standards and hypocrisy is astounding. Same with Lando last year too.
It seems likely mercedes will remain on top with different teams occassionally randomly givibg a real challenge before falling on the faces
@lpvrooom6714Regs sucking is back
@breadconquerorFor the video this week, you gotta shout out 2023 Yuki hahaha he was p11 every damn race
@Yummyburger69Russell won't be clanging anytime soon not on these circuits
@Arcfaders23:33 I think it would be cool to also have the green and red arrows in the drivers and constructors graphics too, to show who changed positions. I guess those who stayed in the same position could have a gray straight line?
Keep up the good work
Go Mercedes! Go King George 🫷🏻🩵🫸🏻
@AlphaStatus5Kimi was definitely quicker than George in the race imo.
@ceaseknight2871Arvid undercut liam for the first pitstop. Then liam undercut Arvid was only fair.
@michaelblair4280Still waiting for that Leclerc video unc
@NickTheFighterGot to agree, Lando simply got a stinker of a strategy... But having watched the race from the grandstands, I am still trying to figure out what happened at the second pitstop... Went from being under a second behind hadjar, forcing him to pit to then being 9 seconds back after pitting one lap later
@bl4xxunLawson is easily in my top 5 for drivers this year. His ep of the High Performance Podcast is worth a watch as well
@harrydarbs2288Not gonna jump on the "are Red Bull back" train yet since both McLaren and Ferrari have fooled us with that exact premise already this year lol
@RobalexeBrilliant live stream as always Tommo! ❤
@ConnorPenfold