Friday at the Red Bull Ring was all about McLaren, which proved dominant thanks to its versatility and strong aerodynamic load in the sweeping corners of the second sector, where it clearly stood out from the rest. Red Bull struggled with understeer but partially compensated with strong DRS performance, while Ferrari suffered on corner entry. Let’s analyse the data.
As highlighted before the weekend, despite being one of the shortest tracks on the calendar — and the absolute shortest in terms of lap time — the Red Bull Ring is more extreme and complex than it might appear. This was evident from the first day on track in Spielberg, where its wide variety of corners rewarded those with strong adaptability, like McLaren.
Friday in Austria was painted papaya, with both British cars creating a significant gap behind them, especially in areas where downforce is key. Such large gaps are unusual on such a short circuit: Max Verstappen was third, three-tenths back, while Charles Leclerc was fifth, six-tenths off. Rivals hope McLaren ran more aggressive engine maps and lighter fuel loads.
In reality, the MCL39 didn’t show particular top-speed weakness — except on the straight to Turn 3 — an area where even Mercedes held its own thanks to the same power unit. However, two factors should be noted: at Spielberg, engine maps are adjusted to release permitted energy more quickly due to the short track, and McLaren ran two different aero configurations.
Lando Norris used a lower-downforce rear wing with a deep V-profile, while Oscar Piastri opted for a slightly higher-downforce setup. The Woking team tested both approaches to find the best compromise between top speed and downforce — crucial for managing rear tyre wear in the race.
Red Bull, on the other hand, continues to dominate on the straights, as seen throughout the season, thanks to its powerful DRS effect — long a key strength of the Milton Keynes team.
Helmut Marko believes the three-tenths gap doesn’t reflect Red Bull’s true potential. Still, straight-line speed alone wasn’t enough to threaten the McLaren duo, as the biggest differences came in the corners. Although some second-sector corners are long, their relatively low speed helps McLaren maximise the MCL39’s aerodynamic load.
In Turn 6 and the fast 7/8 chicane, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri — despite different setups — capitalised on the car’s downforce, gaining significant time over rivals. For example, in Turn 6, Norris was 7 km/h faster than Charles Leclerc and 10 km/h quicker than Verstappen; in Turns 7/8, the gap to the Dutchman rose to 11 km/h.
These corners highlighted Red Bull’s front-end grip issues and the understeer Verstappen complained about all day. He repeatedly called out these turns as the most difficult, while in Turns 9 and 10 he was slightly more competitive, though still trailing the McLarens.
Verstappen’s driving style doesn’t rely on minimum corner speed, but the understeer not only prevented clean exits, it also compromised his line, making it harder to recover. As a result, the gap widened even in the short transitions between corners, like from Turn 6 to Turn 7.
Data analysis confirms most of the time loss came in sector two, home to the three corners that most challenged the RB21. Marko sees McLaren as the favourite but hasn’t ruled out Red Bull, especially if the team can address the persistent understeer.
McLaren’s secret lies in its balanced setup — a point repeatedly highlighted this season. The MCL39 is soft enough to maintain grip and traction in slower sections, limiting understeer (as seen in Turn 4), yet stiff enough to provide a stable aerodynamic platform in fast corners.
Currently, Red Bull remains McLaren’s main threat for the front row. But sector two continues to be a puzzle even for other top teams. From Turn 4 onward, McLaren dominates, and neither Ferrari nor Mercedes has been able to match the MCL39 in medium-to-high speed corners — nor reach Red Bull’s straight-line speed.
For Mercedes, the gap widened in Turns 9 and 10, where George Russell struggled to match the leaders on both attempts, suggesting it’s a genuine limitation rather than a one-off mistake.
Like McLaren, which brought revised suspension to Austria for better corner entry, Ferrari also arrived in Spielberg with notable technical updates — a modified floor with changes even in sensitive areas, proof of an in-depth development effort.
This required a careful analysis phase, with most of the day dedicated to understanding the updates. Still, on a single lap, the SF-25 still appears to lack both downforce and grip, especially in long corners. Another issue also emerged: Charles Leclerc struggled with turn-in, as seen multiple times in Turn 1, where he even made a few mistakes.
As often happens, once tyre temperatures stabilise, Ferrari shows more competitive race pace, closer to the front compared to single-lap performance. However, improving in qualifying remains crucial. Even in Austria, where three DRS zones aid overtaking, starting further back makes it harder to show and fully exploit race pace.
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