© Getty Images / Red Bull Content PoolReviewing Our Weekend In AustriaThe hills are aliiiiiiiive with the sound of VCARB…
Prettyhillystart,youcouldsay.That’sfitting,sincewe’reintheStyrianmountainsfortheFORMULA1LENOVOAUSTRIANGRANDPRIX,Round8ofthe2026season.
Kicking off the weekend, we revealed our Creator Platform race poster, courtesy of @jaimepugart. If you want to be involved, you know where to click.
As admin, with full executive control over our drivers, we had to lay down some strict rules when walking through the paddock. Can you blame us, though? Our boys have that Spielberg style.
Media day over and out, we hit the track, with Ayumu Iwasa taking Liam’s seat in the VCARB 03 for FP1, giving this debrief of his session:
Two more solid practice sessions from Arvid and Liam set us up well for Qualifying and it was looking like we had pace for points yet again (we could deffo get used to this). We had yet another double Q3 finish, with Liam P9 and Arvid P10, for some unreal Spielberg scenes. Here’s the debrief from the boys:
Which takes us right the way up to Race Day. And my goodness, was it a hot one?! The heat was pounding down on the Styrian hills, which was set to make for a tough challenge on tyres and energy management. Here’s how it went down.
Both our boys started on fresh Mediums and got away well at the race start. Liam made up a spot to P8, overtaking the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, while Arvid held his position and defended against Gasly’s Alpine in P11. Liam reported a fire in his cockpit on Lap 4, but we think it was just the unreal heat coming from his race pace… It didn’t seem to slow him down, that’s for sure.
World's Most Expensive Lawnmower© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
On Laps 19 and 20, Arvid and Liam pit for brand new Medium tyres in a race destined for at least two pit stops, emerging 12th and 10th respectively, but with new rubber to make up lost ground. By the time the Virtual Safety Car was deployed on Lap 25, due to Carlos Sainz’s Williams grinding to a halt on the start/finish line, our lads were back up to 9th and 10th.
We called Liam and Arvid in for their final pit stops on Laps 46 and 47, returning to the track in clean air in P9 and P10, where they remained until the chequered flag was flown. That’s yet another double points finish, babyyyyy. Austri-yassssssss. This fan art sums up the performances of our boys perfectly. Here’s how they weighed in on the weekend:
"It was really hot out there today, but overall it was a good race. Tyre degradation was pretty much as we expected, which meant we were able to stick to our plan. In the first stint we were managing some very high brake temperatures, but that settled down after a few laps. There was also a miscommunication between Arvid and I, so I was surprised when we ended up racing into Turn 4, but I was able to regain the position after the second pit stop. We made a good step forward with the car this weekend, and the pace was strong throughout the race. To come away with double points is a great result for the team, and we'll be looking to keep that momentum going. A sprint weekend at Silverstone gives us another great opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to getting back out there."
"It was a positive race and it's nice to get another double-points result for the team. It wasn't the easiest race inside the car for me, as I struggled with braking at low speed and when I was on the Hard tyre. There are a few things that I could have managed better that we need to work on, so I will make sure to review them with the team. Now I'm very much looking forward to racing in Silverstone next week. It will be my first home race in Formula One and I know it's going to be very special. The team has done an amazing job over the last few races to keep bringing upgrades and adding performance to the car, so I hope we can go there by keeping our recent great form as that would be very cool."
Overall, another solid weekend for Team VCARB, but we’re not done yet, because next week… We. Are. So. Back. Round 9 at the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2026 is just around the corner, so don’t stray too far, promise?
That’s all from us in Austria, see you in Silverstone, friends.
VCARB admin signing off.
Views For Days© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
