THREE F1 cars catch fire at scorching hot Austrian Grand Prix

Smoke rises from the Red Bull Ring — Photo: © IMAGO

Austrian Grand Prix

THREE F1 cars catch fire at scorching hot Austrian Grand Prix

Both Cadillacs had to retire from the race

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 28 June 2026 15:59

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The opening five laps of the F1 Austrian Grand Prix saw three separate cars catch fire, on a very hot day at the Red Bull Ring.

Immediately following the start of the race, Valtteri Bottas revealed that the brakes on his Cadillac were on fire, forcing him to come into the pits and retire his car.

Just several laps later, Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson could be heard saying on team radio: "I’ve got fire in my car," before saying on lap five: "I’m still on fire."

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However, the young New Zealander carried on in the race, an event which was played out in 34 degree-heat.

On lap five, disaster then struck for Cadillac once again, with Sergio Perez confirming that his car was on fire too, before the Mexican then had to retire the car, leaving Cadillac without a car in the race.

It's unclear whether all three of the fires were a result of the scorching hot temperatures at the track or not, but Bottas' brakes in particular would not have been helped by being sat on the grid waiting for lights out pre-race.

Even Lewis Hamilton was told to change his PU mode for temperature reasons later in the race - as the brutal conditions added another element of drama in Austria.

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Cadillac's disastrous weekend

New outfit Cadillac brought a pretty hefty upgrade package to the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, while their power unit manufacturer Ferrari also brought an ADUO-inspired upgrade to their power unit, but these two bonuses have not helped Cadillac to fight closer to the points.

Perez and Bottas qualified down in 19th and 20th respectively in Austria, only beating the two Aston Martin cars.

But within five laps of Sunday's race, the two cars were already out, and that so-far illusive first world championship point remains out of reach.

They almost got that first point at the Monaco GP, but a late penalty for Perez demoted him back behind Fernando Alonso, handing the point to their wooden spoon rivals Aston Martin instead.

It means that they are rock bottom of the constructors' championship, but fighting hard to try and improve race by race.