The five most dramatic Austrian Grand Prix moments: Title rivals collide and more

The Austrian Grand Prix is almost upon us and the Red Bull Ring has played host to plenty of dramatic moments over the years.

Ahead of this weekend’s race, we’ve taken a look back at the five most memorable moments involving team-mate collisions and title battles boiling over.

The five most dramatic Austrian Grand Prix moments

5. Max Verstappen marks start of Honda era – 2019

Max Verstappen’s long-term association with Red Bull has made him the adopted son of Austria and so the 2019 race is one that sticks in the memory.

In a season again dominated by Mercedes – its drivers had won each of the eight opening races – Austria became a battle of two others with Charles Leclerc on pole and Verstappen right beside him.

Verstappen had an awful start, dropping down to seventh by the end of the first corner. The fightback began as he moved past Norris, then Kimi Räikkönen to move up into the top five.

A slow pit for Ferrari man Sebastian Vettel allowed Verstappen to move closer and damage to Lewis Hamilton’s front wing also played into the Dutchman’s favour.

Come the end of the first round of stops, Verstappen was on the rear wing of Vettel and got him on the outside of Turn 4.

On lap 56, he reported a loss of power but was still able to move past Bottas into Turn 3 to move back into his original starting spot.

That just left Leclerc ahead and with three laps to go, Verstappen was all over the back of the Ferrari man. He got his elbows out and sent it down Turn 3 but Leclerc retook the lead out of the corner.

Into lap 69, Verstappen again went deep on the inside and shoved Leclerc off the track with a little bump. The orange fans in attendance could not care less though as their man crossed the line in first.

It was also the first win for a Honda engine in 13 years and was a sign of things to come.

4. Norris and Verstappen crash as title race boils over – 2024

The 2024 title battle was already simmering but the Austrian Grand Prix caused it to reach boiling point.

Going into the race, Verstappen enjoyed a 69-point lead over Lando Norris but the McLaren was quickly emerging as the best car on the grid.

Verstappen qualified on pole and took hold of the race but a slow pit stop for the Dutchman put Norris back in contention and as the laps ticked down, Turn 3 emerged as the only possible place for an overtake.

Norris had one go but accused Verstappen of moving twice under braking. A couple of laps later, Norris hit the brakes late but went off the track and gave the spot back. The next lap, he had a look round the outside but Verstappen shut the door. On lap 63, Norris dived down the inside and Verstappen went wide, arguing he was forced off.

Then on lap 64, it erupted. Norris went down the outside but the two made contact. Verstappen’s rear left went bang on Norris’ front wing. Norris too came away with a puncture and the two title contenders limped to the pit box.

Meanwhile, a delighted George Russell picked up the easiest win of his career.

The stewards deemed Verstappen at fault, giving him a 10-second penalty and pushing him down to fifth. Norris meanwhile retired as the 2024 title race came alive.

3. Brambilla produces shock win and immediately crashes – 1975

There’s wet weather and then there’s the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix.

Biblical scenes would be a way to describe the race and after Niki Lauda delighted the home crowd to take pole, his car was not best suited for the wet conditions and he was overtaken by James Hunt.

But Hunt’s time at the front was also short-lived.

His engine was failing and opened an opportunity for Vittorio Brambilla who had started ninth and was now all over the back of the Briton.

The Italian moved ahead on lap 19, proving a master of the wet conditions and the rain was so bad that the race officials brought it to a halt on lap 29, 25 laps earlier than was originally planned.

But even as the chequered flag was waved, there was still more drama to come for Brambilla, who had never won a race before, was so shocked at the sight of it, he crashed into the barriers.

As his car lay wrecked, his March team began to celebrate an unlikely win and Brambilla had become a race winner for the first time at the age of 37.

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2. The Mercedes drivers collide again – 2016

While the crash in Barcelona was their most memorable, it was not the only time in 2016 that Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton got too close for comfort.

Ahead of the next round in Spielberg, Rosberg led the championship by 24 points but started five places back from his P2 qualifying spot due to a change of gearbox.

The superiority of the Mercedes car that season meant cutting through the field was no problem and by lap 27, Rosberg was ahead of Hamilton.

After the final round of pit stops, that remained the case until the very last lap when Hamilton was charging down on his team-mate into Turn 3.

Hamilton took the outside line but Rosberg appeared to forget he had to turn and so crashed heavily into the side of Hamilton’s car.

Rosberg did leave that corner ahead but took much more of the damage as his front wing exploded into fragments of carbon fibre. Hamilton passed easily as did Verstappen and Raikkonnen. Come the chequered flag, Rosberg was down in fourth.

Toto Wolff called it “brainless” and said Rosberg had a brake-by-wire failure that the team were unable to tell him about.

Hamilton did not care though as he gained 13 championship points on his rival.

1. Ferrari’s team orders – 2002

It remains the most egregious use of team orders in F1 history and one that seemed entirely unnecessary.

Austria played host to the sixth round of the 2002 championship and Michael Schumacher arrived in Spielberg with almost double the points of second-placed Juan Pablo Montoya.

However Schumacher’s Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello was the man on top in Austria. He qualified on pole with Schumacher down in P3 and led every lap of the race aside from a pit stop on lap 62.

That was until Ferrari got on the radio to slow him down.

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt told Barrichello to “let Michael pass for the championship” and the Brazilian revealed later that Ferrari threatened to end his racing career if he didn’t comply.

Barrichello did so on the final corner, gifting Schumacher the win but it was a decision met with a chorus of boos from the crowd and even the winning driver seemed embarrassed.

He pushed Barrichello up to the top step of the podium, landing him and the team a fine from the FIA, and he said it was a team order he should have ignored.

Schumacher would win the title by 67 points, proving the Austrian decision to be entirely worthless.

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