SPIELBERG, Austria — Kimi Antonelli set the fastest times in both Friday practice sessions at the Austrian Grand Prix, underscoring his strong start to the weekend as Mercedes aimed to recover from their first defeat of the current Formula One season.
The 19-year-old Italian, who entered the weekend leading the championship with a 41-point advantage over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton after seven rounds, posted the quickest lap in the morning session by a margin of 0.040 seconds over his Ferrari teammate George Russell. Antonelli then improved his pace in the afternoon, outpacing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 0.237 seconds. Piastri consistently demonstrated tempo, securing third place in the early heat-affected session and matching his team’s competitiveness in the later practice.
Mercedes, meanwhile, showed signs of struggle under the intensive conditions at the Red Bull Ring. Although Russell was second fastest in session one, his performance declined to sixth by the end of the day following a disrupted second session. Russell acknowledged the strong showing from McLaren and Red Bull, noting surprise at Piastri’s initial performance and the competitive race pace of Lando Norris, last year’s winner at this circuit, who climbed from seventh in the morning to third in the afternoon.
“First practice was strong for us, but the second showed McLaren and Red Bull had real pace,” Russell commented after the sessions. Norris pointed to the track’s suitability for McLaren’s set-up, expressing optimism for the weekend.
Red Bull experienced a challenging day on home soil. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished fourth in both sessions but reported persistent issues, including severe vibrations under braking. His teammate Isack Hadjar missed the first 35 minutes due to an urgent engine change caused by a pre-session issue. Team principal Laurent Mekies detailed the problems, citing software glitches that delayed Verstappen’s track time.
McLaren’s Norris was sidelined for nearly 45 minutes dealing with a hydraulics fault, while Piastri raised concerns about brake performance. Ferrari ran their F2 driver Dino Beganovic in the first session, who placed ninth, before Charles Leclerc returned for the second session to finish eighth.
Hamilton described the day as “solid but challenging,” highlighting the impact of high temperatures that compounded the difficulties of the demanding circuit. The Ferrari driver stressed the need for further work on car setup and balance to extract maximum performance.
The sessions were also interrupted by several incidents. Sergio Perez’s Cadillac prompted a red flag near the end of practice one after stopping on an uphill section, preventing drivers from completing further runs. In the second session, Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac caught fire following a suspension failure that caused sparks during a slowdown. Additionally, Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa, substituting for Esteban Ocon at Haas, accidentally hit a team mechanic after overshooting his pit box, although no injuries were reported.
As teams continue to adapt to the varied track and environmental conditions, Friday’s results suggest a competitive and unpredictable Austrian Grand Prix weekend ahead.