F1 Today | Verstappen urged to stay patient at Red Bull, Mercedes admit penalties 'inevitable'
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
21:01, 03 Aug
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
From former F1 driver Gerhard Berger telling Max Verstappen to be patient at Red Bull, to Mercedes admitting grid penalties for both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are "almost inevitable" in the second half of 2026 - here are today's main stories!
Verstappen must be patient: 'Red Bull will be back within a year'
10-time Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger has praised Red Bull despite a mixed start to the 2026 season. The former Ferrari man is particularly impressed by the Austrian team's introduction of their first-ever F1 power unit, signalling that Max Verstappen should "continue to work quietly" with the team on their way to being competitive again in six to 12 months.
Speaking on F1's website, Berger said: "When I look and see Red Bull, they built a brand-new engine. Yes, they got people from other companies, but to compete with the experience of Mercedes or Ferrari, and being competitive already in the first year of doing your own engine, it’s actually quite impressive."
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Berger nonetheless admitted Red Bull have had their struggles, focusing particularly on the problems the team have experienced with their 'Macarena' rear wing, which Verstappen labelled "super dangerous" after crashes at Spielberg and Silverstone. Berger said: "That they have some reliability failures in the moment, it’s not nice, especially when it’s wings, but the others also have reliability issues."
The Austrian also said he is a "big fan" of Verstappen, and that he believes should the Dutchman stay at Red Bull, and that the team recruits well, they should soon be competing at the very front of the grid.
"I think if Max continues to work quietly with the team, and they get some more good people on board, I would say in six to 12 months, I see them again being very, very competitive.”
Photo: Race Pictures
Mercedes admit penalties for Antonelli and Russell 'almost inevitable' amid reliability woes
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Meanwhile, Mercedes' deputy team principal Bradley Lord has admitted it is "almost inevitable" that both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will take grid penalties in the second half of the 2026 season. The Silver Arrows lead the Constructors by 72 points at the halfway stage, but have also suffered with reliability issues.
While both Antonelli and Russell are fighting for the Drivers' title - Antonelli leads the standings on 219 points, 59 points ahead of his teammate in P3 - the Silver Arrows duo have each suffered power unit-related DNFs and other reliability woes in recent races.
Last time out at the Hungarian GP, Russell was forced to use his last permitted engine change after suffering a water leak in Q3 during Qualifying.
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Speaking to select media, including GPblog, Toto Wolff's right hand man explained: "Looking at how many [components] we've used in the first half of the season, it's almost inevitable that at some point there will be penalties to take.
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"That's something that the strategy team and guys in Brixworth will work to figure out what the optimum route is through the rest of the season, but it's realistically going to be hard to get to the end of the season on the existing hardware that we've got."
Lord was then asked whether he foresees a penalty to both of the Mercedes drivers, replying: "We've got half a season to do. Kimi's on his fourth set of bits, so the next ones incur penalties, and George is on his third in the first half of the year. So, yeah, the probabilities and the maths would suggest that both at some point will need to take a form of penalty - size to be determined."
Photo: Race Pictures
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 219 | |
2 | FerrariFER | 169 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 160 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 138 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 128 | |
6 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 109 | |
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8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 68 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 43 | |
10 | AlpineALP | 42 |
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