The FIA had already flagged the conditions before race day, formally activating its Heat Hazard protocol – a safeguarding measure introduced in 2025 in response to the punishing 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where several drivers suffered badly in extreme heat, and one that had never previously been invoked for a race on European soil.
Forecast temperatures at the Red Bull Ring’s altitude topped 34°C at race start, and Hamilton’s vest failure meant he had none of the protection those regulations were designed to provide.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Hamilton said.
“It was a really tough race.
It was incredibly hot.
It was so hot it was unbearable.
I was using the cooling vest, but as soon as the start lights went out, it literally stopped working.
“So, it was hot from start to finish.
It was scorching the whole time.
And then the engine got hot, and I had to reduce the power output.
That made it even tougher.
I was losing time every lap, and we were already in race mode with less power compared to the rivals.
It was a really tough race, but it turned into damage limitation.”
Ferrari had shipped its third-specification 067/6 power unit to Spielberg with genuine optimism.
The updated unit pushes Ferrari’s steel-alloy cylinder head concept further, allowing combustion temperatures that a conventional aluminium design couldn’t tolerate, paired with a new Shell fuel formulation aimed at clawing back horsepower against Mercedes.
On paper, it was supposed to help.
On track, it coincided with both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc going backwards.
“On Friday we were down six tenths just in straightline speed,” Hamilton said to Sky Sports F1.
“We’re going to have to push really really hard to see when we can get the next power upgrade…It’s just deployment at the end.
Ours tails off.
Particularly [compared to] Mercedes, they just keep going…that’s not going to come for a while.”
Leclerc, who had qualified second and was running on the front row, eventually finished eighth – 19 seconds behind his teammate – while George Russell converted pole into a comfortable win ahead of Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur didn’t attempt to dress it up either, telling Sky Sports F1: “We didn’t have the pace to fight with Mercedes and Max Verstappen and over-pushed the first couple of laps and had to change strategy.
Everything went in the wrong direction.
It’s a good lesson.”
The result reshuffled the championship standings in ways Ferrari won’t enjoy.
Russell climbed back to second in the drivers’ standings with 131 points, while Hamilton dropped to third.
Antonelli retained the championship lead on 171 points, and Mercedes – unbeaten in qualifying all season – stretched their Constructors’ lead over Ferrari to 72 poinTS.
Austria was supposed to be the weekend Ferrari’s upgrade programme started closing the gap.
Instead, it illustrated just how much work remains.
Hamilton said the fix is “a while” off, and given what happened in Spielberg, that’s not just modesty.
