Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc endured a frustrating Austrian Grand Prix as Ferrari's crippling rear tyre degradation sent both drivers sliding down the order. Hamilton, starting from third, battled Max Verstappen early before switching to a three-stop strategy that never paid dividends. Leclerc fared worse, dropping from second to eighth as excessive degradation left him struggling for grip.

'With George, I was kind of holding on for a second and then the rears just dropped off on every set,' Hamilton told Sky. The seven-time champion couldn't maintain pace despite initially getting past his teammate, as hot conditions exposed fundamental setup issues with the SF-26. Leclerc was left particularly puzzled by the car's behavior, noting the front-end remained strong while the rear completely lacked grip.

Team principal Fred Vasseur suggested his drivers paid the price for pushing too hard in the opening stages against faster cars. 'We didn't have the pace to fight with Mercedes and Max and we over-pushed the first couple of laps,' he explained. Power unit overheating further hampered Hamilton's performance as Ferrari failed to match their Barcelona form.

George Russell claimed victory ahead of Verstappen, extending his championship lead while Ferrari left Austria searching for answers about their car's inconsistent performance between qualifying and race trim.