The F1 Austrian Grand Prix starts on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET, live on Apple TV. The first two F1 practices took place on Friday. Practice 3 and qualifying on Saturday morning produced much drama at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
Early Austrian GP predictions were all over Kimi Antonelli snagging the pole, with others on Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The qualifying position is not necessarily important at the Austrian Grand Prix, with 81 overtakes occurring in 2025.
However, one driver was underestimated, as George Russell won pole for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, with some yellow-flag controversy sprinkled in.
Could Sunday’s F1 Austrian Grand Prix give us more twists and turns?
Let’s race into our F1 predictions for Austrian Grand Prix in Sunday morning’s race, based on Saturday’s qualifying results, including the latest favorites to win, finish podium, and more from PrizePicks Team Picks.
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F1 Austrian Grand Prix Predictions & Picks After Qualifying
Antonelli, Hamilton, or even Verstappen were the favorites to take pole in the Austrian Grand Prix. But after a strange turn of events, George Russell pulled off the fastest lap in Saturday morning's qualifying session, winning the pole position.
Russell finished 0.236 seconds better than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. That helped Russell secure his fourth pole of the 2026 season. Leclerc will be in Row 1 beside him. Hamilton held off Antonelli and Verstappen for third position.
Below, find the full F1 qualifying results for the Austrian Grand Prix. This should help in building those F1 predictions. Be mindful that Austria only has 10 turns and room for many overtakes (50+ per year over the last five races), and more are expected Sunday.
2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
Kimi Antonelli was rolling in Qualifying Session 1 and even in Q2. Q3 saw a change as speeds came up, and Russell was able to stop the Ferrari charge.
Leclerc and Hamilton thought they had a chance, and suddenly, they didn’t. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ended up just outside the Top 5.
2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix Favorites to Win, Payouts on PrizePicks
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli opened as the early favorite to win the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, but Russell took over again after qualifying.
Below is a breakdown of the latest Austrian Grand Prix favorites and payouts to win the race on Sunday, June 28, at 9 a.m. ET.
Numbers below represent payout multipliers if your F1 Austrian GP pick is the right one. For example, 5.55x on a $100 entry would pay out $555 on PrizePicks Team Picks. “Yes” payouts represent the payouts if the driver wins; “No” payouts indicate payouts if they do not win.
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2026 F1 Austrian GP Podium Picks, Payouts
Below are the 2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix podium finisher payouts for Sunday’s race, headlined by Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, followed by Verstappen and the McLaren duo.
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2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix Predictions, Driver Picks for Sunday, June 28
Let's crank the engines for our top F1 Austrian Grand Prix predictions, with drivers expecting a very hot Sunday at Red Bull Ring.
Find all F1 picks below on PrizePicks: choose More or Less on F1 driver stats to win real money when you’re right.
Max Verstappen – 4.5 Finishing Position
Max Verstappen to Win the Austrian GP: Yes 14.28x | No 1.02x
- Max Verstappen starts fifth after qualifying on Saturday.
- Verstappen did crash his primary car when the rear wing malfunctioned off DRS mode during qualifying.
- The Red Bull driver was carrying Row 1 pace in all sectors before the Turn 9 mishap.
- Red Bull has been experiencing chronic start issues, dropping multiple positions.
- Verstappen’s upgraded car, along with Isack Hadjar, has had several locking issues near turns this weekend (like in Turns 3 and 9).
- Vertapped DNF the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, also with Red Bull.
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Lando Norris – 5.5 Finishing Position
Lando Norris to Podium at Austrian Grand Prix: Yes 5.55x | No 1.09x
- McLaren’s Lando Norris could not crack the Top 5 in qualifying, settling for sixth, 0.389 seconds behind Russell.
- Norris finished 2.695 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri to win last year’s Austrian Grand Prix.
- The 2025 World Champion has a payout to win at Yes 33.33x
- Given expected air temperatures around 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the McLaren could start to assert itself in the later laps, as it did last year.
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Liam Lawson – 9.5 Finishing Position
Liam Lawson to Top 10 at Austrian Grand Prix: Yes 1.66x | No 1.96x
- Lawson was fast in 2025 on the Red Bull Ring, as he started sixth and finished sixth.
- Both Racing Bulls cars made it into Q3 on Saturday and will occupy Row 5 for Sunday’s race.
- Lawson will start ninth; dating back to 2025,, Lawson finished ninth or better in eight of the 11 races he started Top 10.
- Lawson has five Top 10 results in his previous six races this season.
- While Lawson has not had a Top 5 finish in 2026, he came closest at Monaco, where Lawson was fifth at the end of the race, before Pierre Gasly’s successful appeal.
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Make 2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix Picks on PrizePicks
The expectation is that the 2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix will be run under hot, muggy conditions over 71 laps. With a high amount of overtakes expected and hot temperatures around 95 degrees, there may be chaos, tire wear, and a few yellow flags.
Mercedes still ranks as the best team, but Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are closing in with their upgrades. Finally, McLaren showed top pace here last year with Norris winning. Oscar Piastri finished in second, just 2.695 seconds behind.
Get in your F1 Austrian GP predictions on PrizePicks Team Picks before Sunday's 9 a.m. ET race start — and scout out our F1 predictions hub for winner and podium picks plus more across every race this season.
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