In Austria, Verstappen shows he still belongs at the very top of the sport

After a dramatic qualifying on Saturday, the Dutchman fought his way to an impressive second place, just 1.6 seconds behind winner George Russell. With that, Verstappen and Red Bull sent a powerful message to their rivals: don’t write them off yet.

The race weekend at the Red Bull Ring seemed destined to end in disappointment on Saturday evening. Verstappen crashed in the closing stages of qualifying, forcing him to settle for fifth on the grid. On a circuit where overtaking is possible but track position remains crucial, that was a significant setback. Even so, Verstappen remained remarkably calm. Behind the scenes, Red Bull were confident that the updates brought to Austria were finally doing their job.

That confidence proved justified. From the start, Verstappen drove with the aggression and control that have earned him four world titles in recent years. In the opening phase, he engaged in a brilliant battle with Lewis Hamilton. The Brit defended hard; Verstappen attacked smartly and ultimately got past without contact. It was a duel reminiscent of the glory days of their 2021 title fight: hard, fair, and on a knife edge.

More important still was the pace of the RB22. For the first time this season, Verstappen didn’t seem focused on damage limitation, but on genuinely attacking for the lead. Through a clever strategy, Red Bull managed to put pressure on Mercedes driver George Russell, who ultimately had to pull out all the stops to keep Verstappen behind.

That Russell ultimately won does little to detract from the Dutchman’s performance. In fact, Verstappen himself said afterward that this was the first race of the season where he truly felt he could fight for the victory - a statement that likely brought relief within Red Bull.

The numbers back that up. From fifth on the grid, Verstappen climbed to second, finished just 1.611 seconds behind Russell, and kept championship leader Kimi Antonelli behind him. All of that on a circuit where Mercedes looked particularly strong all weekend.

Still, not everything was perfect. In the closing stages, Verstappen complained about rear-end issues, which prevented him from fully launching a final attack on Russell. It shows that Red Bull still has work to do. The deficit in the championship also remains substantial.

But where recent months were characterized by frustration, strategic missteps, and a lack of pure pace, Austria finally brought visible optimism. Not only for Verstappen, but also for team principal Laurent Mekies and the engineers in the garage.

The Austrian Grand Prix didn’t yield a win for Verstappen. But it may have delivered something just as important for the rest of the season: the belief that winning is possible again. And if Max Verstappen is dangerous anywhere, it’s at the moment he once more believes he can be the fastest.