F1MATHS: How much straight-line speed advantage do Red Bull and Mercedes have compared to Ferrari?
The top speed figures from qualifying at the Red Bull Ring reveal some very clear differences in philosophy between the five engine manufacturers. F1Technical’s senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his latest analysis.
While outright speed on the straights does not automatically translate into lap time, it provides an insight into where each team chose to find its performance.
At the very top of the charts was Max Verstappen, who recorded 331 km/h, the fastest speed of anyone during qualifying.
Even more interesting is the fact that four Red Bull-Ford-powered cars occupied four of the top six positions.
Mqx Verstappen led the way, with Mercedes Andrea Kimi Antonelli just 1 km/h slower on 330 km/h, while Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad also reached 330 km/h. Isack Hadjar completed the Red Bull-Ford quartet with 329 km/h.
This suggests that the Red Bull-Ford package was exceptionally efficient on the straights. The engine appears to be producing competitive power, but equally important is the low-drag aerodynamic configuration used by both Red Bull teams.
Having both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls near the top of the speed charts indicates the advantage was not exclusive to Verstappen's setup.
Mercedes were only fractionally behind. Antonelli's 330 km/h and George Russell's 329 km/h show the works Mercedes had virtually identical straight-line performance to the Red Bull-Ford cars.
That makes Russell's surprise pole position even more impressive. While Verstappen's Red Bull was among the fastest cars in a straight line, Mercedes managed to combine nearly identical top speed with stronger performance through the corners, allowing Russell to extract the quickest lap despite lifting slightly into the penultimate corner.
The biggest talking point comes from Ferrari. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton recorded only 325 km/h, leaving them 6 km/h slower than Verstappen and 4-5 km/h behind Mercedes.
Around the Red Bull Ring, where almost 70% of the lap is spent at full throttle, such a deficit is significant.
However, Ferrari's lower speed should not necessarily be interpreted as only an engine weakness.
The Scuderia looked capable of locking out the front row before Russell's late lap, suggesting they deliberately sacrificed straight-line speed in favour of greater downforce.
More wing generates extra grip through Spielberg's medium- and high-speed corners, allowing drivers to brake later and carry more speed through Turns 6, 7 and the final two corners. The trade-off is reduced maximum speed on the long uphill run to Turn 3 and along the pit straight.
This theory is supported by qualifying itself. Despite being among the slowest cars on the straights, Hamilton qualified third and Leclerc remained firmly in contention for pole throughout Q3. Their lap time losses on the straights were largely compensated by superior cornering performance.
McLaren were unable to record the same straightline performance as Mercedes despite an identical power unit. Lando Norris reached 326 km/h while Oscar Piastri managed 325 km/h, placing them in the middle of the speed rankings.
It suggests that the papaya team are unable to generate the same overall aerodynamic efficiency that Mercedes can achieve.
One interesting outlier was Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso managed only 315 km/h, with Lance Stroll even slower at 314 km/h—around 17 km/h down on Verstappen.
Such a large deficit almost certainly reflects an aggressive high-downforce setup rather than simply lacking engine performance, although it also highlights how difficult Aston Martin's weekend appeared to be.
Overall, the numbers suggest three distinct approaches to qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.
Red Bull-Ford maximised straight-line performance, with four cars inside the top six for terminal speed. Mercedes matched that straight-line pace while producing the quickest overall package, culminating in Russell's pole position.
Ferrari clearly suffer from some power unit disadvantage compared to Mercedes and Red Bull, but their SF26 produces higher drag in exchange for greater cornering grip, a strategy that still left Hamilton and Leclerc firmly in the fight for the front rows.
