FORMULA 1 LENOVO AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 2026

The biggest headline out of Barcelona is that Lance Stroll outqualified Fernando Alonso. That marks the first time this season that the son of the team owner has led his more experienced teammate from the line. Looking back at their history as teammates, Lance has closed the gap in their head-to-head battle for the first time in 43 races at the same team. Is this the end for Fernando? Is he finally washed up? Vettel's qualifying record v. Stroll was 27 - 15. Alonso's is 42 - 1. It's probably too early to call his career over, but it might be one of the minor horsemen.

On the other end of the "old-timer" timer spectrum, it looks like Lewis has his groove back. He's looked comfortable in the Ferrari all year and he put together a spectacular lap on Saturday and a great drive on Sunday to make his way back up to the top of the podium. I was really hoping for a Raikkonen-esque "It's about F*****g time!" but I had to settle for some joyous "thank you to everyone back in the factory"s and a quiet moment near the scales. Now, maybe he'll retire at the end of the season and we can see whether Bearman is actually worth the hype. (spoiler alert- he is.)

I will say, I am enjoying a season where the cars are pretty and reliability is an issue. That means that both Alpines and both Racing Bulls have an opportunity to finish in the top ten (even with penalties applied). And both teams took full advantage of the retirements from Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren. Audi is a bit on the back foot. They bought into the team early so they could hit the ground running competitively in the new rules era and that has, so far, been a complete miss. So much so that many commenters are referring to 11th place as a "Hulkenberg." Of course, this weekend it was a Barteletto. But the sentiment remains.

Notable hits-
-Isaac Hadjar made up 8 places throughout the race with four impressive on-track passes. *
-Lewis Hamilton back on the top step.
-Ferrari strategists made some great calls and reacted to events on track with decisive, reasonable calls.**

Notable misses-
*-Isaac Hadjar lost 8 places at the start.
-George Russell managed to finish 23 seconds behind the Ferrari in a car that was faster, and easier to drive. And he got passed on the track by his teammate who was on the same tires and the same strategy.
**-Ferrari making good pit calls is the equivalent of Stroll out qualifying Alonso. 1 in 43 doesn't impress me much.

Next week, the teams head to Austria for the 8th race of the year. And you'll probably hear everyone and their mother talk about how it isn't a typical track, just like they talked about how none of the last 7 were. Typical or not, it has provided some interesting races in the past and offers some long straights for energy driven passing and repassing. Also, Max has always gone well there. I'd look for him to be the dark horse winner if Mercedes continues to screw up.

We'll be back at Doherty's in Apex. Hope to see you there.