George Russell picked up right at the Red Bull Ring where he left off in Montreal, topping the timesheets in the opening practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver, fresh from his victory in Canada, posted a best time of 1m05.542s around the Spielberg track, narrowly edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.065 seconds.
Behind the front two, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri continued his strong form to slot into third place.
With scattered rain drops and increasing traffic towards the end of the one-hour session, few drivers were able to improve their times late on, leaving Russell’s early flyer as the one to beat.
While the pecking order was unsurprisingly tight at the front of the field, it was the presence in fourth position of McLaren junior Alex Dunne that raised a few eyebrows.
The young Irishman, currently leading the Formula 2 championship, made his Formula 1 debut in place of Lando Norris and impressed immediately, finishing just 0.069s behind Piastri.
McLaren junior Alex Dunne.
Clearly emotional after the session, Dunne shared his excitement over the team radio, saying: “I want to say a massive thank you for making a little boy’s dream come true, this is definitely the best day of my life, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with this car.”
Joining him in the rookie ranks was Dino Beganovic, taking over Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari for the session. While his program was more limited, the Swede ended 18th on a tough morning for Ferrari, with only Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman behind him.
There were mixed fortunes elsewhere. Lewis Hamilton’s session was hindered by a gearbox issue, limiting his track time and putting him ninth overall.
Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, suffered a spin at the final corner after pushing too hard on soft tyres, summing up a frustrating start for Aston Martin.
Pierre Gasly delivered a solid performance in fifth for Alpine, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto impressed with sixth.
Williams teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz followed in seventh and eighth respectively, ahead of Hamilton and rookie Isack Hadjar, who completed the top 10.
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