The 2026 Austrian Grand Prix drivers’ parade moved away from the standard flatbed lorry format, opting as a substitute for a fleet of bespoke KTM X-Bows wrapped within the liveries of every of the present Components 1 groups.
Forward of the race on the Purple Bull Ring, the 22 drivers had been chauffeured across the 4.318km Styrian circuit within the Austrian-manufactured automobiles.
The KTM X-Bow is the motorbike producer’s premier four-wheeled observe car. First launched in 2008, the ultra-lightweight sports activities automobile is constructed round a Dallara-designed carbon fibre monocoque and is powered by a rear-mounted, turbocharged Audi engine.
For the outing forward of the Austrian Grand Prix, every KTM X-Bow was wrapped to match the 2026 livery of its passenger’s respective F1 group.
Apparently, the Purple Bull Ring hosts a KTM X-Bow driving expertise. Assuming these used throughout the drivers’ parade are of the identical specification because the driving expertise fashions, the X-Bow accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. It produces 330 horsepower and has a kerb weight of simply 790kg, leading to an daunting power-to-weight ratio.
“That KTM is superior assume LN1 ought to get one,” one Lando Norris fan wrote on X, whereas others argued that the drivers ought to have been allowed to race the KTM X-Bows.
“It might have been just like the LEGO race!” one fan commented, referring to the life-sized LEGO automobiles pushed throughout the drivers’ parade on the 2025 Miami Grand Prix. The LEGO Group partnered with F1 to ship 10 bespoke, team-liveried automobiles – one for every storage on the grid. The chaotic pre-race second rapidly turned a fan favorite.
Mercedes’ George Russell will begin the Austrian Grand Prix from pole place with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc beside him in second. Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton and championship chief Kimi Antonelli full the second row, ranging from third and fourth, respectively.
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