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
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur admits to feeling relieved after his sit-down in Brazil with…
On this day in 1994, Michael Schumacher clinched at the season finale Australian Grand Prix…
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar is not quite ready to call time on his 2026 campaign.…
Aston Martin F1 team owner Lawrence Stroll is reportedly “at wit’s end”, according to Sky…
Toto Wolff has no intention of rewriting Mercedes’ recent history now that the team is…
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes an alliance between 2026 F1 world champion Kimi…