F1 heads to the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix, with the Championship picture continuing to shift after Lewis Hamilton’s stunning win at Barcelona last time out. Kimi Antonelli remains in command at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, but with his commanding lead briefly punctured by a DNF in Spain, the chasing pack has been given a sniff. Mercedes continue to dominate the constructors’ battle too, while Ferrari look the most likely to mount a real challenge. We preview the weekend and lay down a couple of suggested bets.
DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Kimi Antonelli still leads the Drivers’ Championship on 156 points after his run of wins to start the season, but the gap is starting to close. Lewis Hamilton has moved up to second on 115 points off the back of his Barcelona win, while George Russell sits third on 106 in the second Mercedes. Charles Leclerc is fourth on 75 for Ferrari, with Lando Norris just behind on 73, Oscar Piastri sixth on 68 and Max Verstappen seventh on 55, still well short of his usual position in the title fight.
Antonelli is the title favourite at 1.45, with Russell next at 4.50 and Hamilton just behind on 5.00 after his Barcelona heroics. Leclerc is out at 26.00, with Verstappen at 34.00 and Norris at 41.00, while Piastri is the rank outsider of the leading group at 101.00. The market is essentially handing this to Antonelli, but Hamilton’s win has finally injected some genuine intrigue at the top of the standings.
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CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Mercedes are still running away with the Constructors’ Championship on 262 points, with their advantage barely scratched by Antonelli’s DNF in Barcelona. Ferrari sit second on 190 after Hamilton’s win moved them closer, with McLaren third on 141 and Red Bull Racing fourth on just 89 points.
The bookies have Mercedes as overwhelming favourites at 1.11 to seal the constructors’ title, with Ferrari out at 7.00, McLaren at 19.00 and Red Bull as rank outsiders at 67.00.
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Last Race – Barcelona GP 2026
The Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya produced a fascinating race as Lewis Hamilton converted his recent run of form into a long-awaited race win for Ferrari. George Russell was second for Mercedes, with Lando Norris taking third for McLaren in a much-needed result after a tough run. Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull, with Oscar Piastri completing the top five for McLaren. The big story, however, was Kimi Antonelli’s DNF after an unfortunate electrical shutdown ended his race while he was on a charge for the win.
Austrian GP 2025
Last year’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring was a McLaren one-two, with Lando Norris taking the victory ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton fourth and George Russell fifth to round out the top five. Both Max Verstappen and a young Kimi Antonelli failed to finish on the day. Norris will be hoping he can replicate that drive on a circuit where the McLaren genuinely flew last year.
The Red Bull Ring
The Red Bull Ring is one of the most distinctive venues on the calendar, a 4.326-kilometre layout nestled in the Styrian hills that is remarkably short by F1 standards but still produces some of the highest average speeds of the season. The combination of short lap times, three DRS zones and the iconic, fast-flowing layout typically produces close racing and tight margins, which is exactly the angle we will be leaning on this week. In three of the last four Austrian GPs, the winning margin has come in under five seconds.
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BETTING (2026 Austrian GP) – Click here to bet
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 2.90
George Russell (Mercedes) 4.30
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 5.00
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 7.00
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 8.00
Lando Norris (McLaren) 13.00
Betting and Verdict:
After Hamilton’s win at the Barcelona GP, Antonelli is now priced at 2.90 to win the Austrian GP rather than the 1.95 he was for the previous race, and that feels about right. The Italian has already won five races so far this season, and although he recorded a DNF in his most recent outing, he had just overtaken his teammate for second and looked set to catch Hamilton for the win with the pace he was carrying when an unfortunate electrical shutdown forced him to retire the car. The engineers will have fixed the issue this week, and with the Mercedes’ underlying pace clearly back on top, I like him to win at 2.90.
Suggested bet: Kimi Antonelli to win at 2.90.
We are going to look at a different kind of bet this week. The Austrian GP always delivers excitement, with the 4.326-kilometre Red Bull Ring being remarkably short compared to most circuits while still producing some of the highest average speeds of the season, it routinely produces the fastest lap times on the calendar. This combination means less room for the faster cars of the day to build up big margins. In three of the last four races in Austria, the winning margin has come in under five seconds, with the only exception being Verstappen’s 2023 win where, despite dominating the season, he beat Leclerc by just 5.155 seconds. With three drivers in Antonelli, Hamilton and Russell all capable of winning this weekend and pushing each other to the line, we are going for the winning margin under five seconds.
Suggested Bet: Winning margin under 5 seconds at 2.20.
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Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
