Papaya Triumph and Red Bull Ruin: The Winners and Losers of the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix
If you’d told me, back in the turbo-hybrid dawn of 2014, that Red Bull would one day leave their own Styrian backyard with nothing but a bruised ego and a heap of carbon fibre, I’d have laughed you out of the paddock. But here we are, June 30th, 2025, and the Red Bull Ring has delivered a Grand Prix that will be dissected, debated, and—if you’re a McLaren fan—framed and hung above the mantelpiece. For the rest, it’s a tale of redemption, heartbreak, and the kind of rookie magic that makes you believe in racing fairytales, if only for a Sunday.
A home race to forget ❤️🩹
Result 🏁 NOR, PIA, LEC, HAM, RUS, LAW, ALO, BOR, HUL, OCO#F1 || #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/csdTtgKiiN
Let’s take a walk through the winners and losers of the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, a race that reminded us all that in Formula 1, history is written in heartbreak as often as in heroics.
The Papaya Parade: McLaren’s Historic 1-2
There are dominant weekends, and then there are weekends where a team looks like they’ve been playing chess while everyone else is still learning the rules. McLaren’s 1-2 finish—Lando Norris leading Oscar Piastri home after a tense, wheel-to-wheel duel—was not just a statement; it was a seismic event. For the first time in their storied history, McLaren locked out the top two steps of the podium at the Austrian Grand Prix, a feat they’d never managed before at this circuit.
Norris, still smarting from his Canadian calamity, was a man on a mission. He topped every practice session, snatched pole by a country mile, and then held off Piastri’s relentless pressure for 71 laps. The two traded blows, but crucially, traded respect—a word that’s been in short supply in some garages this year.
We had a great battle, that’s for sure. It was a lot of fun, for me a lot of stress but a lot of fun! A nice battle, so well done to Oscar.
Lando Norris
The papaya squad’s performance was so complete that even Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, allowed himself a rare smile. The team’s decision to let their drivers race—especially after their recent on-track clash—was vindicated in the best possible way. As for the constructors’ championship, McLaren now enjoys a 207-point buffer, and the only thing hotter than their pace is the speculation about which of their drivers will blink first in this title fight.
Watch the full race recap and emotional reactions here: The Winners And Losers From The 2025 F1 Austrian Grand Prix (YouTube)
Red Bull: From Home Heroes to Hometown Heartbreak
If McLaren’s day was a coronation, Red Bull’s was a public execution. For the first time since their home race returned to the calendar in 2014, Red Bull left Spielberg with zero points—a streak of 77 consecutive points-scoring weekends snapped in brutal fashion.
Max Verstappen, the local hero with a record of dominance at the Red Bull Ring, didn’t even make it past Turn 3. The Dutchman was unceremoniously punted out of the race by rookie Kimi Antonelli’s out-of-control Mercedes, ending his afternoon before it had begun and dealing a hammer blow to his already faltering title defence.
Unfortunately for us this weekend there weren’t a lot of positives and although we were unlucky with the yellow flag in qualifying yesterday and the incident today, we lacked pace throughout. We have had some amazing performances at this track in the past and I am the most disappointed about this result in front of a home crowd, but we will continue to try and do our best and my mentality and focus will not change.
Max Verstappen
Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, endured a weekend so wretched it’s a wonder he didn’t ask for directions back to Faenza. Out in Q1, two laps down at the flag, and involved in a clumsy collision with Franco Colapinto, Tsunoda’s struggles with the RB21 have reached existential proportions. Red Bull’s second-driver problem, long the subject of paddock gossip, is now a full-blown crisis.
For a team that’s built its brand on relentless excellence, this was a humiliation. The only solace? The knowledge that, in Formula 1, the next race is always just a week away.
Ferrari: The Best of the Rest, and a Glimmer of Hope
If you squinted, you could almost see the old Ferrari swagger returning. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton brought the Scuderia home third and fourth, respectively—the team’s best result of the season and a much-needed tonic after months of Maranello malaise.
The all-new floor, introduced with much fanfare and a healthy dose of skepticism, finally delivered. Leclerc was powerless to resist the McLarens, finishing nearly 20 seconds adrift, but in a race where Red Bull imploded and Mercedes wilted in the heat, Ferrari was the clear “best of the rest.”
Third felt like a mini-victory given McLaren’s dominance, and Lewis also had his strongest race in red despite struggling with some niggling brake and balance issues.
Ferrari team statement
It’s not a return to the Schumacher era, but for a team that’s spent much of 2025 searching for answers, Austria offered a rare moment of clarity.
Rookie Revelations: Bortoleto and Lawson Shine
Every so often, a rookie arrives and reminds us why we fell in love with this sport in the first place. Gabriel Bortoleto, the reigning F2 champion, delivered a drive of maturity and poise to claim his maiden F1 points in eighth, outdueling his mentor Fernando Alonso in a late-race scrap that had the paddock buzzing.
Bortoleto’s performance was no fluke. He reached Q3 for the first time, kept his nose clean amid the chaos, and showed the kind of racecraft that suggests Sauber’s faith in him is well placed. Team principal Jonathan Wheatley called the result “inevitable,” but the relief on Bortoleto’s face told its own story.
Liam Lawson, meanwhile, produced the best result of his F1 career, finishing sixth for Racing Bulls and leading home the entire Red Bull stable. In a season that’s tested his resolve, Austria was a much-needed shot of confidence for the Kiwi.
It was an amazing race – super intense from start to finish, and I am really proud of what we have done today, together, as a team.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Mercedes: Antonelli’s Nightmare, Russell’s Rescue
The highs and lows of a rookie season were laid bare for Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Two weeks after his breakthrough podium in Montreal, the 18-year-old was brought crashing back to earth with a first-lap mistake that ended both his and Verstappen’s races. The stewards handed him a three-place grid drop for Silverstone, but the real punishment was the walk back to the garage, helmet in hand, in front of a stunned Mercedes crew.
George Russell salvaged something for the Silver Arrows with a lonely fifth, but Mercedes’ overheating woes on a scorching Spielberg afternoon left them well off the pace. Toto Wolff, never one to mince words, called it “a perfect storm” for the team’s 2025 car—a fiery cocktail of everything it dislikes.
Williams: When It Rains, It Pours
If there was a team that could have capitalized on the chaos, it was Williams. Instead, they left Austria with nothing but a pair of DNFs and a growing sense of frustration. Carlos Sainz’s race ended before it began, his car succumbing to a brake issue and fire on the formation lap. Alex Albon, running in the points, retired with yet another overheating issue—his third consecutive DNF.
Williams’ margin in the constructors’ championship is now under threat, and with rivals catching up on development, the battle for fifth is suddenly wide open.
The Final Standings: 2025 Austrian Grand Prix
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 71 laps |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +2.7s |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +21.0s |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +25.0s |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | +32.0s |
| 6 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +40.0s |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +41.0s |
| 8 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | +41.5s |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | +43.0s |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +45.0s |
| … | … | … | … |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +2 laps |
| DNF | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Collision |
| DNF | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Collision |
| DNF | Carlos Sainz | Williams | Technical |
| DNF | Alex Albon | Williams | Technical |
Full results and lap-by-lap breakdown: Austrian Grand Prix F1 race results 2025 (The Race)
History Rewritten: Context and Parallels
Let’s not mince words: this was a race that tore up the script. Red Bull, unbeaten at home in the points since 2014, left empty-handed. McLaren, never before a 1-2 at the Red Bull Ring, now have a new chapter in their annals. Rookie points scorers at Austria are rare—Zsolt Baumgartner’s 2004 point for Minardi was the stuff of legend, and now Bortoleto joins that exclusive club.
Max Verstappen’s history here has been one of triumph and disaster: four wins, two DNFs, and now a collision that may haunt his title defence. For a man who’s made this circuit his playground, 2025 will be a bitter memory.
