Everything we learned on day one of F1's 2026 Austrian GP

Formula 1’s 2026 season has arrived at the Austrian Grand Prix with the anticipation of multiple major upgrades up and down the grid and a slew of fresh speculation.

Here’s what we learned from Thursday at the Red Bull Ring.

Fornaroli is a Haas seat contender for 2027

McLaren-contracted Leonardo Fornaroli is in contention for a Haas race seat in 2027. That follows his impressive two-day TPC (testing of previous cars) test in a 2025 Haas at Jerez earlier this month, which was to allow Haas to evaluate him. 

Haas has yet to decide on its driver line-up for next year, but with Ollie Bearman’s place assured unless Ferrari calls him up, Esteban Ocon’s is in doubt, given his erratic performances for the team.

While it’s understood no decision has yet been made, and the team will need to wait and see how the top end of the driver market shapes out in case someone unexpected becomes available, Ocon needs an upturn in performance if he’s to stay on, which the team will give him every chance to do - especially given there have been some problems with consistency of parts that had made the performance of both cars variable.

And reigning Formula 2 champion Fornaroli is in a strong position if there is a vacancy, despite there being other potential candidates available.

“I don’t know where we’re going with that, but the main purpose of our TPC programme is to provide opportunities for young drivers,” said Komatsu when asked about the reason for Fornaroli’s test.

“Leo is reigning F2 champion, he’s a credible driver and he’s been on a really good training programme with McLaren, so it's really good for us to have a chance to look at him.”

When asked by The Race about the possibility of needing a new driver in 2027, Komatsu replied “I don’t know if we need a new one, because our focus is with our two drivers”. - Edd Straw

Mercedes drivers will race 'different'

The question of team orders at Mercedes intensified at Barcelona after Lewis Hamilton came away with victory on an alternative strategy while Kimi Antonelli and George Russell fought each other hard - and potentially slowed each other down in the process.

Team boss Toto Wolff even hinted Mercedes could have won the race with team orders.

Discussions have taken place between Mercedes and its drivers ahead of the Austria weekend, which might lead to a different approach.

“Of course, from now on, it's going to be important to race even more wisely because it's not just about George and me anymore, but the others are coming,” Antonelli said.

“So I think this weekend is going to be a weekend where I think all the top four teams will be super close because Ferrari's bringing a new engine, a bit more powerful engine, Red Bull is bringing a big, big upgrade, which should give them a lot of performance, and also McLaren, they've been there ever since Miami.

“Definitely the way I'm going to go racing is maybe a little bit different. Also, it depends a lot on the scenario. If there are other drivers that are close, other competitors that are very close, then probably I would race in a different way than if it was just me and George racing.

“So it will all depend on the pace, how fast we are and where we are on the grid.”

Russell used the contrasting examples of Montreal and Barcelona to explain when team orders might be necessary.

“You saw in Canada, Kimi and I fought really hard, but we were pulling away from everybody else, so the win for the team was not under threat,” Russell explained.

“But then you look in Barcelona and suddenly you have another driver who’s in the fight. And OK, Lewis had the [virtual] safety car, this helped a lot. Without the safety car, Kimi and I were losing time together and it would have given the opportunity to Ferrari to win.

“That is when we need to be smart as team-mates and it’s very clear, the team wants to win the race. It doesn’t matter if it’s myself or Kimi.”

Mercedes hopes a new battery update for this weekend will also help its fortunes. - Josh Suttill

Norris wishes new wing came three months ago

The official upgrade document isn't out yet, but it is known there are at least two major novelties in McLaren's Red Bull Ring package - the new Mercedes battery with its reliability fix, and McLaren's own take on F1's 'upside-down' rear wing trend.

The battery will be in Oscar Piastri's car but not Lando Norris's - as the champion would incur a grid penalty for a change.

The wing, in turn, will be on Norris's car and not Piastri's, but almost certainly only on Friday - with Norris repeatedly cautioning it is a "test item" that should need "ironing out" before it's race-ready in a few events' time.

Norris gave a lot of credit for the work done at McLaren to prepare its own prototype - but he also said this timeline (against the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull, which debuted their wings in race trim in Miami nearly two months ago) was part of McLaren's overall delay in the development race.

"It was pretty cool to see Ferrari have it in the beginning of the year [in testing]," said Norris.

"It's amazing what someone who understands the rules and regulations, and understands the wording, how you kind of work around these areas - I think that's something that makes Formula 1 very special, is how people can create these kind of concepts."

He added with a smile: "I wish we had it three months ago already! So this is where I say 'we're three months behind on developments', and this is included in that." - Valentin Khorounzhiy

Albon's Barcelona GP car is still at the Williams factory

Alex Albon has changed his chassis since the Barcelona GP, but he’s simply swapped to another chassis in the pool because the one he used at Barcelona is still at the Williams factory!

Albon suffered a miserable Barcelona GP with car problems, meaning Williams “turned it into a test” session.

“As a team we took the car back to the factory and we just basically got it through a lot of testing,” Albon explained.

“I think it's not just on my side of the garage, but I think…my side of the garage has it worse. So, having a look at that and trying to understand what are these issues that are going on.”

Albon was tight-lipped on what exactly the issues are, just replying "not really" when asked for specifics on the problem.

“We see it, we've checked it, it comes and goes. I can tell you it's towards the rear of the car.”

Albon’s had the rougher end of the deal compared to team-mate Carlos Sainz, but the issues aren’t confined to his side of the garage.

“I think Japan, Carlos had it worse,” Albon said. “On average, yes, I've had it worse, but it's more about understanding it as a team.

“I think that we know it's not helping the balance of the car, we know that it's creating inconsistencies with the car. The more we understand it and eliminate it, we'll get on top of it.

“The car that I ran in Barcelona, that's basically gone through a lot of rig testing. It's still there, it's still being worked on. Actually, we've done a great reaction. I think the work that we've done to try to get on top of it has been very strong.” - JS

More details of Hamilton's neck injury

Amid the jubilation of Hamilton's Barcelona GP victory on Sunday evening came the surprise admission of an injury he sustained during his first year with Ferrari last year.

"At the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, and carried that for months," Hamilton said at Barcelona.

On Thursday in Austria, he explained more about the neck injury he suffered during a pre-season test at Barcelona.

“I hit the wall very hard last year in testing,” said Hamilton. “Knocked out one of the discs in my neck, which was into the nerve.

“So, I couldn't do a lot for like nine weeks. I was having chiropractors every day, physically every day I couldn't sleep.

“I had painkillers, I had to get an injection, I did everything I could to try to fix it. So that's what I was basically trying to live with. It's not easy in the position that you're sitting in.” - JS

Cadillac upgrade worth a 'few tenths'

Cadillac has what team principal Graeme Lowdon describes as a “substantial” upgrade package, focused on new sidepod and floor changes.

Valtteri Bottas suggested this would be worth approximately 10 points of downforce.

“A few tenths, I think, in theory,” he said when asked what laptime this would be worth.

“We're going to do some aero runs in the beginning in FP to see what the actual effect is compared to the past and then we see. But hopefully it works as it should.”

It’s hoped that this, combined with reliability updates to tackle the brake overheating problem that has blighted Cadillac recently, will allow the team to take another step towards catching the main midfield group ahead. - ES

Leclerc's confidence claim needs testing

While his Ferrari team-mate Hamilton has returned to winning ways, it’s been a rough run of races for Charles Leclerc.

Braking woes compromised his Montreal and Monaco weekends, and while Leclerc’s feeling improved at Barcelona, a crash in qualifying and mechanical failure on Sunday ruined his weekend.

But while he did lose confidence at one stage, Leclerc feels he’s found it again, even if the results aren’t showing that so far.

And he refuted any suggestion that it has anything to do with Hamilton’s increased input into a 2026 car that Hamilton's far more comfortable in than its 2025 predecessor.

“It's not that I don't feel comfortable with this year's car, it's just that in Montreal, particularly in Monaco, we've had some issues that have been very, very tricky,” Leclerc said.

“There [in Monaco] I've lost a bit of confidence with the car, but not with the package itself.

“Nowadays, we've got a lot of freedom with the set-up to make sure that a car fits your driving. So it's not that I feel limited in any kind of ways with that. I don't think that this is going to be an issue that is going to keep going. I hope not, at least.

“But I felt a lot better in Barcelona with things that we have changed. I don't think it's part of any of this. I don't feel any less confident with this car than last year's car. It's just that there's been these two, three races where there's been the lack of confidence in Canada and Monaco.

“On top of that, we've got technical issues on a Sunday in Monaco and in Spain. That means that this has been lots of points lost in three weekends. It's not a nice feeling. But I'm looking forward to this weekend and try to put all of these behind us.”

Leclerc added he’s “not too stressed about the pace in itself, I just want to put a weekend together now with the team and be back to where we should be”. - JS

Colapinto credits Briatore for turnaround

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore drew headlines before the Austrian GP weekend for comments he made to F1’s Beyond The Grid Podcast.

He said Colapinto was “integrating much better in the team”, having improved a lot “mentally, technically, [and with his] relationship with the team”.

A decision on Colapinto's future will be made before the summer break, according to Briatore, who also drew social media attention for comments he made when asked about Colapinto’s demo run in Buenos Aires, which attracted huge crowds, much to Briatore’s surprise.

“Half a million people saw nothing [a test, not a race]. The strangest…Franco never won nothing, I still don’t understand this half a million people or more, standing there for Franco. I don’t understand,” Briatore said.

Asked whether he’d like the Argentine GP to return to the F1 calendar for the first time since 1998, Briatore joked: “If I still have Franco, yes. If I don’t have Franco, I don’t care.”

Colapinto was asked about Briatore’s Beyond The Grid interview when he faced the media in Austria.

“I heard a little bit, I found it…very good comments, a very funny interview, I think it was quite fun, in general it was, had a little bit of a laugh at times,” Colapinto said.

“Flavio, he’s been very supportive with me and he's been very harsh at times [when he] needs to be harsh. I think he has experience to do that and of course it's also on me, how I take those moments and luckily I did take them very well.

“He helped me to learn a lot and to also improve more from the very tough moments, those really hard and tough situations made me much stronger and the way he was handling with me those situations made it even more in that way and I think nowadays he's really helping me.

“He has had a lot of confidence in me this season and that's pushing me in the right direction and also gave me the support that he always gave me.

“His support, off track, on track, with the team, not only with me as a driver, with the engineers, with everyone, he pushed the team forward a lot. I really appreciate that, someone…he pushes always more and more and more, even when we are doing well or we are having a good result.

"We are finishing P6, he's back in the factory and he's the only one not being happy…and wanting more and more and more.” - JS

Alonso's timeline for his 2027 decision

Fernando Alonso expressed surprise at the upgrade pace of 'money machine' rival teams in Austria, as he and Aston Martin await their first major 2026 upgrade, which should arrive just before or just after the summer break.

It appears the success of that upgrade (and Honda’s engine upgrade, its only engine upgrade of 2026 despite ADUO allowing it two) is directly tied to Alonso’s 2027 decision.

One that appears to be F1 with Aston Martin or race elsewhere.

"I will wait until probably summer break, which is August," Alonso said. "After summer is Zandvoort, Monza - I think around that time I will probably decide what to do next year.

"I will keep racing [somewhere] because I'm feeling fast and I feel motivated and I love what I do.

"I will not stop now, because I don't feel uncompetitive or that I don't enjoy racing. If I race in Formula 1 or not, that's a different story; I need to enjoy the category and the feeling of driving these power units and these regulations, and these kinds of things.

"There are many factors to put in place and there are many options to race in the world of motorsport.

"I still love F1. I'm committed to this team also. So even if I don't race, my commitment with the team and with the project is the same."

Chief trackside officer Mike Krack said “Fernando should not retire, he is too quick” - to which Alonso replied: "I don't need Mike to tell me that I'm fast.

“I feel it every lap that I do on track and I've been feeling it always. Let's see; I have not taken any decision." - JS