All 22 drivers gather for Austrian GP dinner as seating arrangements spark fan debate

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali sat at the head of the table as all 22 drivers gathered for the annual drivers’ dinner ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix on Thursday evening at the Red Bull Ring. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell occupied seats on one side of Domenicali, while Williams’ Carlos Sainz and four-time champion Max Verstappen sat on the other.

The official group photograph, shared on social media, quickly drew a wave of reaction from fans dissecting the seating arrangements and driver dynamics. “Yay, time to overanalyse the seating positions!” one Reddit user wrote, capturing the mood of the broader response.

Much of the attention fell on the pairing of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Valtteri Bottas, who sat alongside each other. Bottas, Finnish by birth, has long been adopted as an honorary Australian by fans of the sport. “Oscar and Valtteri next to each other makes me really happy because they seem like they would get along — with them being two chill Aussies and everything,” one fan posted.

McLaren’s Lando Norris also attracted comment, with several fans suggesting his expression in the photograph looked disengaged. “It’s all too much for little Lando Norris,” one wrote, while another added: “Lando looks asleep haha.”

The Hamilton-Russell dynamic drew its own thread of observations. “Lewis took the seat closest to Stefano just so George wouldn’t get it,” one fan speculated, referencing the pair’s sometimes complicated relationship during their time together at Mercedes.

The dinner preceded the opening day of on-track action, in which Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2. Russell was second fastest in FP1, while Piastri claimed the second-quickest time in FP2.