Lando Norris continued his commanding form at the Red Bull Ring by topping the timesheets in final practice ahead of Saturday’s qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, as McLaren extended its dominance.
Despite missing FP1 on Friday, Norris has been the class of the field ever since he stepped into the car for FP2 — and he reinforced that pace with a session-best 1:04.324 in FP3.
His McLaren teammate and current championship leader Oscar Piastri slotted in just over a tenth behind, securing another McLaren 1-2 to start Saturday.
As track temperatures rose throughout the session, conditions were cool enough early on for several drivers to stay in their garages rather than rush out at the green light. But once the action unfolded, it was clear that McLaren had picked up where they left off on Friday.
Max Verstappen remained the biggest threat to the papaya-colored cars, finishing third fastest and just 0.210s adrift of Norris. The Red Bull driver, however, had a dramatic moment late in the session when he spun on track – a rare unforced error from the reigning world champion, who will be keen to rebound in qualifying.
Piastri also had a heart-stopping moment of his own, nearly losing control at Turn 9 after carrying too much speed into the corner and briefly dipping into the gravel. Norris, meanwhile, ran wide a couple of times, though it didn’t affect his ultimate pace.
Elsewhere, Ferrari made visible gains after a lackluster Friday, with Charles Leclerc climbing to fourth ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli followed in sixth and seventh respectively.
Lance Stroll, after a strong FP2 showing, ended the morning in eighth, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull and Gabriel Bortoleto, who rounded out the top ten.
There was also a brief scare for Isack Hadjar, who spun at the final corner in his Racing Bulls machine but managed to avoid the barriers and continued without damage.
With temperatures rising and competition tightening at the top, all eyes now turn to qualifying — where McLaren will look to convert their practice supremacy into pole position, while Red Bull and Ferrari aim to disrupt the status quo.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made no effort to hide his satisfaction after Sprint qualifying…
F1 fans on Shanghai witnessed another commanding performance from Mercedes in Friday’s Sprint qualifying, with…
Charles Leclerc did not hide his anger after sprint qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix,…
Max Verstappen did not bother to sugarcoat his performance after sprint qualifying for the Chinese…
There was a sense of bafflement lingering in the Shanghai paddock after Sprint qualifying for…
Flavio Briatore has confirmed that Mercedes is among several parties interested in buying a minority…