Red Bull theory put forward by Lewis Hamilton after Verstappen battle

Lewis Hamilton suggested that Red Bull gained up to four tenths with the upgraded RB22 in Austria, as Max Verstappen recorded a season-best P2.

Hamilton warns that Red Bull are “going to be a force to be reckoned with” in the upcoming rounds, having suffered defeat in a thrilling Austrian GP battle versus Verstappen, his former title rival.

Lewis Hamilton delivers Red Bull ‘force’ warning

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Hamilton and Ferrari went into the Austrian Grand Prix with momentum, after Hamilton scored his first Ferrari grand prix win in Barcelona last time out.

But, Austria was to come and go without a podium finish for Ferrari, while Hamilton renewed acquaintances out on track with Verstappen.

At one point calling for a Hamilton penalty – a Verstappen request not granted by the stewards – Verstappen eventually make the overtake stick on Hamilton and raced on to second place. His and Red Bull’s best result of the season, Verstappen crossed the line just 1.6 seconds behind Mercedes’ race winner George Russell.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was forced to settle for P5, while Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc brought his SF-26, sporting front wing damage, across the line in eighth.

Red Bull brought the most upgrades of any of the top teams to Austria. It was a seven-part package which went onto the RB22.

At a time where Red Bull is trying to secure Verstappen’s continued commitment to the team, Laurent Mekies, the Red Bull team principal, had stated his hope that the Austria package would bring the Milton Keynes squad within three tenths of the ultimate pace.

It could well be a case of mission accomplished, and Hamilton is certainly impressed. Rivals of Red Bull must be on high alert in the coming races, Hamilton warns.

“They made a huge step this weekend,” Hamilton said of Red Bull when speaking with PlanetF1.com and others after the Austrian Grand Prix.

“I think they must have brought a three to four tenths upgrade. Three tenths was just from the weight that they dropped from the car, which is huge, considering they’ve been so close in some of the races, like Monaco, and they were nine kilos overweight.

“It’s showing that they’ve got a good car and that they’ve lost that weight, and then they brought lots of upgrades, so they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the following races.”

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Verstappen, speaking in the post-race press conference, pointed to a race-changing moment on the rear of the RB22.

But, despite that setback, Verstappen expressed delight at feeling truly competitive. He praised Red Bull for the work that went into those Austrian GP upgrades.

“I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win,” he said.

“I do think that the first half of the race, we were more competitive, because for whatever reason in the second half, something felt off on the rear of the car, where everything was just extremely difficult, from bumps, kerbs, traction, it was just completely gone. So that’s something that we need to understand again, what went wrong there.

“But yes, the first half I felt really good. I mean, I was closing the gap even after the battles that I had with Lewis. It was cool, but it made us of course lose quite a bit of time. So yeah, every time catching up.

“But then in the middle of the second stint, something happened with the car on the rear axle, which made me lose pace, and that just stayed there until the end. So that’s a bit of a shame.

“But still, to be that close to a win, I think is a great effort from the team. They have worked really hard to get these upgrades on the car here, and this is the first time, I think, in the race where I felt really competitive and I could push a bit more. So that is definitely the positive, I think, of this weekend.”

Asked in what performance areas the RB22 had improved with these upgrades, Verstappen added: “It’s a bit more grip. Just goes a bit faster around the corner.”

F1 2026 continues this weekend with the British Grand Prix.

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