Red Bull Racing introduced a significant seven-part upgrade package to its RB22 chassis during the Austrian Grand Prix, prompting warnings from rival drivers about the team's restored competitive pace.
The adjustments successfully shed an estimated nine kilograms of excess weight that had hindered the car since the start of the season.
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The development allowed Max Verstappen to challenge for the front row before finishing second behind race winner George Russell, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton secured fifth place after an intense early track battle.
The stewards briefly reviewed an incident on lap 11 where Verstappen accused Hamilton of forcing him off the track at Turn 6, but they ultimately decided against a formal investigation.
"That's a penalty," said Verstappen. "Clear penalty."
Verstappen later executed a successful overtake on lap 22 but experienced a sudden drop in rear-end stability during the second half of the race, which prevented him from catching the leader.
"I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win," said Verstappen.
"I do think that the first half of the race, we were more competitive, because for whatever reason in the second half, something felt off on the rear of the car, where everything was just extremely difficult, from bumps, kerbs, traction, it was just completely gone.
So that's something that we need to understand again, what went wrong there."
"But yes, the first half I felt really good. I mean, I was closing the gap even after the battles that I had with Lewis.
