Helmut Marko names clear favourite for Austrian GP in bold prediction call

The former Red Bull advisor, who called time on his illustrious career in Formula 1 following the conclusion of the 2025 campaign, outlined a number of scenarios for how things could play out when the cars take to the track at the Red Bull Ring.

Marko, who spoke in an interview with Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitung, noted how Mercedes could be largely touted as favourites, albeit pointing out that the power unit issues the Brackley-based outfit have recently faced could again come to the fore. The 83-year-old further detailed how the weekend in Austria often proves to be an ideal venue for the introduction of upgrades, which could present Red Bull and Max Verstappen with a chance of challenging for victory if their updates this weekend deliver the desired results.

“The new regulations clearly put Mercedes in the favourite's role. However, they've already had their second engine failure, which is unusual for them. Generally speaking, though, updates are certainly more effective at this stage of the regulations; you can gain five-tenths of a second in one go,” Marko explained.

“Red Bull is fielding a car at the weight limit for the first time, so they'll definitely be there. I hope Max can then be up front. Mercedes is the favourite, but the rest of the field is more than interesting,” he added.

While Marko has tipped Mercedes to be the quickest of the lot in Spielberg, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has set his sights on Ferrari proving strong once again in Austria.

The 55-year-old, who spoke to GPblog among other outlets about his outlook for the race in Austria, highlighted the differing characteristics of the circuit compared to Barcelona, before suggesting Ferrari could again be the benchmark, as they were in Catalunya.

“Austria is a slightly different circuit. Here, stability and braking and turning are so essential. In Barcelona, there’s more straight-line braking, and then you go into some low-speed corners. So it’s a slightly different circuit compared to here. But I would expect that Ferrari remains the faster car in the corners. Probably Mercedes over a single lap, the best car on the grid. When the chassis and the power unit are both considered,” Stella explained.

The McLaren team boss was, however, measured about his team’s prospects in Austria, noting that McLaren’s focus remains on bringing upgrades to address ongoing weaknesses and improve overall performance.