Can Ferrari win again at Austrian GP to accelerate Mercedes challenge

No driver has won more grands prix in Formula 1 than Lewis Hamilton, while no team has won more often than Ferrari, but the combination's long-awaited first success together at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix acted as a historic moment in the sport.

But was it a statement of things now to come over the rest of the 2026 season or the result of a particularly strong weekend and the first step towards being able to challenge championship leaders Mercedes on a race-by-race basis?

We assess Ferrari's chances of building on their overdue return to winning ways as the season heads to the hills of Austria…

Is this the start of something for Ferrari?

After ending what had become a 34-race run without a Grand Prix victory, the Prancing Horse will certainly arrive at the Red Bull Ring this week with their tails up.

The same is surely true of Hamilton, whose personal victory drought back to 2024 had lasted six races longer than Ferrari's. The 41-year-old has now finished in the top two of the last three races, with four podiums in seven races this season.

Prominent figures from championship leaders Mercedes and reigning champions McLaren were readily talking up Ferrari's form and potential in interviews after the Barcelona race, with the Silver Arrows' Toto Wolff confident that "there is a third party now getting involved in the championship fight, constructor and driver" with his team.