Red Bull Face Home Pressure

Verstappen must avoid penalty point while rivals McLaren seek to rebound

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Present rivalries and past collisions hang over Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, as Formula One braces for the next round of Max Verstappen versus George Russell and more title-chasing drama at McLaren.

Russell and reigning champion Verstappen finished first and second in Canada two weeks ago, with Red Bull protesting — in vain — the Mercedes win and accusing the Briton of unsportsmanlike behaviour.

It is safe to say the pair are not friends, and they are building up quite a track record, colliding in Spain earlier in June in an incident that left Verstappen blamed and on the brink of a mandatory race ban.

Two of those penalty points expire after Austria, but he still has to stay out of trouble through a weekend in the Styrian hills where his orange-shirted fans will be out in numbers.

"It's always a great weekend there. We've had a lot of great results and, hopefully, we can have another strong weekend there," said Verstappen, the Austrian GP winner in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Team boss Christian Horner was not about to make any sweeping predictions.