Formula 1 Austrian GP
Alex Brundle explains why Austrian GP altitude could worsen Mercedes power unit concerns
Mercedes faces another reliability test at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Alex Brundle warning that the Red Bull Ring’s altitude could further strain its troubled power units
Lydia Mee
Edited: Jun 26, 2026, 3:25 PM
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Mercedes could face another challenging weekend in its battle with power unit reliability at the Austrian Grand Prix, with F1 TV pundit Alex Brundle warning that the altitude of the Red Bull Ring may exacerbate the Brackley outfit's concerns.
Following a string of retirements for Mercedes, including those of George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix and Kimi Antonelli at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, as well as for some of the Mercedes customer teams, the paddock arrives in the Styrian mountains for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Speaking on F1 TV's Weekend Warm-up show, Brundle explained why the high-altitude circuit could push the Mercedes power units, as well as those of other manufacturers.
"It's a factor here. We're 600m high here in Spielberg. Air is about 8% thinner. That means less air through the radiators. That means the turbo has to work harder to compress that air and deliver it to the engine," he explained.
"So the whole thing takes a lot more energy. Look, they've got a benefit of a token to develop that engine. They want to use that for performance and not for reliability. So we'll see if that's a factor for them."
F1 journalist Lawrence Barretto, who joined Brundle on the show, also commented on the recent race retirements for Mercedes.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
"It's not often that you see Toto Wolff publicly lambast his team, but he was quite vocal in Spain when he said that they've just got to be better because it's not good enough to build the best power unit if it isn't allowing you to finish the races," he said.
"And the problems have spread across the customers as well. So, it's not unique to the factory team. I saw in the Italian media today that Kimi Antonelli said that they've started to find some answers to the issues that they've had on the battery side of things. But it is critical that they find some solutions quickly and long-term fixes."
Interestingly, Antonelli and Russell set the two fastest times during FP1.
Photos from Austrian GP - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
Austrian Grand Prix - Friday
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