F1 swaps drivers' parade lorry for team-liveried KTM X-Bows at the 2026 Austrian GP

Formula 1 ditched its traditional flatbed lorry for the drivers’ parade at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, replacing it with a fleet of team-liveried KTM X-Bows that carried all 22 drivers around the 4.318km Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg ahead of the race.

Each lightweight sports car was wrapped to match the 2026 livery of its passenger’s respective F1 team, giving the pre-race procession a distinctly local flavour — KTM is an Austrian manufacturer best known for its motorcycles, with the X-Bow serving as its flagship four-wheeled track vehicle.

First introduced in 2008, the X-Bow is built around a Dallara-designed carbon fibre monocoque and powered by a rear-mounted turbocharged Audi engine. Based on the specification used in the Red Bull Ring’s own KTM X-Bow driving experience, the car produces 330 horsepower, weighs just 790kg, and sprints from 0 to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds.

The format drew immediate comparisons on social media to the life-sized LEGO car parade at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, where The LEGO Group partnered with F1 to produce ten bespoke, team-liveried cars — one per garage — in what quickly became a fan favourite moment. “It could have been like the LEGO race!” one fan wrote, while others called for the drivers to have been allowed to race the X-Bows outright. “That KTM is awesome — think LN1 should get one,” a Lando Norris supporter posted on X.

On track, Mercedes driver George Russell claimed pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row. Lewis Hamilton and championship leader Kimi Antonelli complete the second row in third and fourth respectively.