We returned to the ‘CERTIFIED BANGER’ of a weekend amidst the beautiful hills of Austria. Had it not been for the name of the track, we wouldn’t have heard the name ‘Red Bull’ this many times this weekend, given their continued run of poor performance. Fresh from the hangover of the movie, fans and drivers made their way to watch the more accurate, but for most of the time, rather boring, racing spectacle (thanks to dirty air) unfold in front of them. This was not the easiest of Fridays for the McLaren PR team as Alexander Dunne popped a banger lap finishing P4 in FP1, which demanded the whole curtain of technical excuses to maybe hide the fact of how fast and easy to drive that McLaren might just be. The field seemed very close throughout the practice sessions, up until McLaren put a lap on the board, and then there were no challengers WHATSOEVER!

Lando seemed on the pace from the get-go, making him the favourite for pole this weekend. However, we have seen this film before, and if past trends are anything to go by, it seemd wide open (between the McLarens). Tough day in the office for James Vowles and Sainz fans as the Williams seemed to fall apart more than some of our lives, proving neither of them was contesting in Q3, which seemed a flat-out battle between the two McLarens yet again. This session also saw the likes of Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto throwing their hat in the ring. Gasly’s spin in the last corner brought out the yellow flag of the session, raining down the efforts of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri as they ended P7 and P3 respectively on the grid. Ferrari pulled a surprising pace out of the bag as Charles took second behind Lando Norris, who just kept finding the extra tenth all weekend.

Alpine still managed to find a way to f*** me up after all these years, huh?

Austria was on the assignment to deliver even before the lights went out, as Carlos Sainz stood still during the formation lap and the fans thought he was pulling a Sonny Hayes, fresh from the movie. Talk about the most exciting first lap as Oscar was on a hunt to murder, and Leclerc was his first victim into turn 1, and almost lunged for Lando. We thought this would be the order after lap 1, but thanks to Kimi Antonelli, who did a ‘video game lunge’ into turn 3, locking up, losing the car and crashing straight into Verstappen bringing an end to Max Verstappens’s race and Championship hopes (if there were any). What unfolded next was absolute cinema as McLaren seemed way clear off the grid, and they went battling each other for 20 straight laps and treated us with the best wheel-to-wheel action of the season. The battle could never materialise again as the pitstop strategy and Franco racing Oscar instead of letting him through never allowed the gap to shrink. Ferrari inherited the next best 2 spots with P3 and P4, even though they were miles behind, while it proved ‘THE WEEKEND’ for Bortoleto and Lawson, with a fantastic P8 and P6 finish.

SO MUCH TO PLAY FOR, for the drivers and for us fans as Silverstone GP weekend draws in and so does the Grid Master British GP Contest! Championship on the table for two McLaren boys with no one throwing their hand in and a memorable trip to Qatar for lucky fans throught the OFF 2 QATAR Contest and Fan Championship Contest. Will it be a McLaren domination yet again or changing weather would give Mercedes a sniff like last time? Will Ferrari build-up on their new found pace relative the grid? So many questions to be answered and even more points and rewards to be earned. So put your passion, skill and intuition on the show and win big on this weekend British GP Contest only on the Grid Master app.

The story of sprint is one of tragedy as not one, not two, but three people picked the pocket of Quartararo, who started the race from pole position, hoping against all odds that he could maybe taste that win. Marquez pairs first and then Bezzecchi, passing the pole sitter, set the tone of the sprint race and made their way to the podium in the same order. Lap 6 drama between Alex Marquez and Acosta led to a horrific crash for Alex, leaving him with a fractured hand while his brother was busy fending off Bezzecchi and Pecco at the front end. The battle at the front showed no signs of dying out as Pecco and Acosta found themselves in a battle for P3. When the dust settled, it was Marc Marquez winning the Grand Prix to draw level with racing legend Giacomo Agostini, coming to the chequered flag ahead of Bezzecchi, who handed Aprilia their double podium with Bagnaia finishing the podium.

A WILL THEY, WON’T THEY romcom story between Red Bull and WDC 2025 seemed to have had an unscripted anti-climax as all of them now accept, (even though unwillingly), but accept the fact that they will have to give up their championship hopes for the season. An unlucky qualifying session left Max Verstappen doing charity work for drivers like Bortoleto. In contrast, it left the Red Bull and Max fans hoping for no less than a ‘Sunday Miracle’ from Max Verstappen. It would have been declared a Championship over for Max Verstappen had he finished where he started on the grid; nevertheless, now that he has had a DNF, while McLaren comes out this weekend scoring the maximum points possible. It seems that Max has made peace with the fact that the Golden era is over and has shifted his focus to sim racing for this year, and maybe it’s time for Red Bull to follow his lead. Will this campaign loss end here, or will it open a Pandora’s box for Toto to snatch up Max at last? Only time will tell.

Our heartiest congratulations go to Mr. Omkar Mohite as he realises most of the motorsport racing fans' dreams, winning himself a fantastic Trip to Qatar to enjoy and witness these beasts of speed in the flesh. We also congratulate him for setting the field for other winners to join him in what is the festival of speed, as 10 MORE LUCKY PLAYERS are yet to win their motorsport racing experience in Qatar. Know more about the tips and tactics that won Omkar his Qatar experience as he shares his experience, use his slip-stream and do your mightiest lap in the Grid Master’s Off 2 Qatar contest and make your way to the ultimate fan experience!

Watch now: Instagram

HULK-E MEIN MAT LE OSCAR

Presenting a brand new section of your much-loved newsletter, called DID YOU KNOW? A segment where we take random, interesting, shocking facts, trivia and stories, realising how they painted the motorsport world, how we now see and love!

Do you wonder why an aborted start and an extra formation lap lead to the subtraction of a lap from the main race? Is it a stage rent system, and do drivers need to empty the paddock on time? Well, no. The cars are set up with unbelievable precision and calculation, and one extra lap could lead to massive inconvenience in terms of fuel and tyre plans, so any extra round around the circuit, even as a formation lap, has to be made up for by adjusting the net laps of the race.