RARE PHOTOS: Toto wolff points to max verstappen factor behind red bulls austria pace

Max Verstappen came as close as ever to his first win of the season in Austria. The Red Bull driver, having started fifth in Spielberg, emerged as George Russell's main pursuer during the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix and finished just over 1.6s behind.

Red Bull brought a major upgrade to Austria in an attempt to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, the two teams that appeared to have held the advantage in recent races. While the package evidently delivered the desired step in performance, Toto Wolff still believes it was mainly Verstappen who put Red Bull in contention for victory in Spielberg.

"I'm not surprised at all," Wolff said, when asked after the race whether he was surprised to see Red Bull as the main challenger instead of Ferrari.

"Red Bull is one thing, but it was Max Verstappen. For me, how it feels is like Max won every single race here that he's ever participated in, in whatever car. Spielberg is one of his strong places.

"The car seems to have been going well and the Ferraris, I don't know what happened to them."

Verstappen has indeed won five Formula 1 races at the Red Bull Ring, including both the Styrian and Austrian Grands Prix in 2021.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes (Photo by: Anni Graf - Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Wolff, however, did not buy into the suggestion that Verstappen should now be viewed as a championship threat. Asked whether he now considered the Dutchman a factor in the title fight - or at least someone who could take points away from the championship contenders - the Austrian responded with a joke.

"I think this could be a George Russell thought," he said, suggesting that was reading too much into the situation. "[It's an] over-complication.

"Max is always good for playing a role in the championship.

"That [Red Bull] car performed well this weekend. I think the biggest factor this weekend was Max, to be honest. He's able to bring out everything that is in that car. You can see that with his team-mates.

"That's why you can never discount or underestimate the Verstappen factor for a championship."

After Austria, it is still Mercedes' other driver, Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship. The Italian, who finished third, is now 40 points ahead of Russell, with Lewis Hamilton dropping to third, a further six points behind.

Verstappen, meanwhile, scored only his second podium finish this year, now sits seventh in the standings, 98 points behind Antonelli.