Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, Sunday, June 29, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.
The Austrian Grand Prix is coming up this weekend, a race that I personally have a special connection to. It was here that I visited the paddock of the premier class for the first time and met my childhood idol Sebastian Vettel.
In addition to a photo, I was allowed to ask him a few questions during the press conference. It was an exciting experience – as was standing at the end of the start/finish line with my photo vest on, just a few meters away from cars traveling at 300 km/h.
This time, I’ll be enjoying the race from my couch, which isn’t too bad considering it’s supposed to be 30 degrees on Sunday. These temperatures definitely play into McLaren’s hands, though.
How strong the traditional British team will be this weekend is probably the most interesting question. Was Montreal just a one-off, or has the competition really closed the gap? For the sake of excitement, I’m hoping for the latter, but I don’t want to commit myself in my Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix prediction.
There are much more interesting bets waiting for the race in Spielberg. In any case, the odds indicate that the bookmakers can well imagine that the dominance could be over.
However, I suspect that Canada was more of an exception and that McLaren will find it easier on the classic circuit and especially on a permanent race track, which is why the upward shift in the odds for a McLaren car to win (1.50) is not uninteresting.
Austrian Grand Prix start times: TV and stream broadcast
However, I finally decided that Nico Hülkenberg will finish in the points again. He has been consistent in recent races, had good starts and made no mistakes, except maybe in qualifying.
But now his bright green Sauber is a really fast car on race Sunday. That’s why I’m taking Bwin’s 2.00 odds for a third top-10 finish in a row.
Lando Norris is under a lot of pressure. Time and again, he fails to really stand up to it. In my opinion, he lacks the maturity to win the title, at least for now. Last year, he messed up every start and lost more positions than any other driver.
In 2025, it’s mainly qualifying mistakes that have cost him a few points. He reveals his self-doubt in interviews, which is commendable, but it also shows that he’s still missing something.
In my preview for the Canadian Grand Prix, I wrote that the situation between him and Oscar Piastri, who was putting him under enormous pressure, was quite harmonious and that no internal team clash was to be expected. But now it has happened!
On TV, the phrase “classic commentator’s bad luck” would have been used to fill the cliché box. Norris tried to pass his teammate but had far too little space on the side, misjudged the situation and crashed into the rear of the Australian’s car.
Piastri was able to continue and secure fourth place, but for Norris, the race was over and his deficit has grown to 22 points. The team management has already made several critical comments about Norris in public, and now they’ve done it again.
This only puts more pressure on the Brit, which he simply cannot handle…
In addition to the tasty odds of 2.85 for a win at our best bookmakers, there is also the option of 1.72 for a Piastri victory in the team duel. He is the opposite of Norris in terms of character, a cool customer who is already being compared to the Iceman Kimi Räikkönen.
He has taken the next step this season. One that allows him to harmonize with the strong McLaren, which works on almost every track.
The track characteristics, with a few more fast corners and slightly rougher asphalt compared to Montreal, should suit the car, especially with the forecast of 30 degrees Celsius. The McLaren is considered to be very gentle on tires.
The last 5 races at the Red Bull Ring:
But after a weak weekend in Canada, a McLaren victory won’t be my main bet. In general, it should be a really close call between the top teams again.
Mercedes has been faster again recently, Ferrari is dangerous in the race, and we always have to keep an eye on Max Verstappen, especially at Red Bull’s home race. He has already bagged four wins in Styria.
However, the Dutchman needs to be careful. If he collects another penalty point by the end of the race weekend, he will be suspended for one race. He won his fourth consecutive title with Red Bull last season. He has been unrivalled in his own team for a long time.
Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and now it’s Yuki Tsunoda who can’t get to grips with the car. In the past 19 races, Red Bull’s second drivers have scored as many points across seasons as Hülkenberg has scored in Sauber this year.
That doesn’t speak well for the second drivers, but it definitely speaks well for Hülkenberg. After all, the Emmerich native still had a very bad gut feeling after the weak test drives.
His strong seventh place in Australia at the start of the season was more a fluke due to the numerous retirements. That was different in Canada and Spain recently, where he was able to increase his tally to 20 points.
That’s how many points the future Audi team has collected in total over the last two years. The next points are realistic in Spielberg.
Conclusion: I think Hülkenberg is capable of finishing in the points again. Sauber brought a lot of updates and some of them paid off. Hülkenberg currently feels comfortable with the car and has a lot of experience in the race that he can draw on.
Behind the top teams, he should be able to keep up in terms of pure speed. Williams should be a little better again on the top speed track, but otherwise I see little competition.
Aston Martin is likely to struggle with the temperatures and top speed, the Racing Bulls have fallen back, and if one of them does perform better, everyone at the front will have to get through unscathed to finish ahead of Hülkenberg.
That’s a complicated thing in Spielberg, especially turn three at the highest point of the track, where there are often crashes. The start is also exciting with the fast, tight right-hander and offers potential for flying carbon parts.
Due to the many rookies, I also think a safety car deployment is likely. Betano again offers great odds for this in Spielberg.
My Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix tip: Hülkenberg in the top 10
