F1 Austria applauded Russell Hamilton. Neither Lewis Hamilton nor any Ferrari representatives were among those attending the Austrian GP press conference. But these were equally the heroes of Thursday at Spielberg. Victory in Barcelona, Mercedes’ first elusive victory in the 2026 World Championship, triggered the classic alarm bell at Brackley; So much so that team boss Toto Wolff will consider team instructions should Hamilton reappear in the W16s’ mirrors at the Red Bull Ring. Speaking about Hamilton and Ferrari, George Russell praised the seven-time world champion and his development in recent months, describing him as an absolute threat for the championship. “Firstly it’s nice to see Lewis doing what he does best, but I think it shows how challenging Formula 1 is: the cars, the power units, the tires, it’s so complex that everything has to fit together correctly; if one element doesn’t fit, you’re not going to get the best out of yourself,” was Russell’s comment at the Austrian GP press conference. “People were already starting to write him off last year, and even the year before that: we were teammates in 2024 and I always saw how passionate he was. He showed in the last 4-5 races that you don’t forget to drive from one day to the next, but everything has to be in harmony.” “Lewis is definitely a huge threat for us at the moment. Kimi is a driver who is ahead of everyone by a good margin and is driving at an incredible level with incredible consistency, but Ferrari are also coming and Lewis is attacking.” “Ferrari has always had a great chassis, they were way behind us on the engine side. But it looks like they’ve gone one step ahead in terms of top speed in Barcelona as well. They’re also bringing a lot of updates, which was surprising to us because they and McLaren were using these chassis in both races, whereas we only brought one package. But since our karting days we’re used to competing against multiple drivers, so I’m excited about this challenge.”
Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News
2026-06-26 00:00:00
Automobile Magazine, 2026-06-26 07:15:00, automobilemagazine.com.tr
Automobile Magazine – English News
Source link 2026-06-27 14:34:00
