Kimi Antonelli led a Mercedes one-two in the opening practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix, edging team-mate George Russell in a hot and eventful hour at the Red Bull Ring.
The championship leader posted a best lap of 1m07.796s to finish 0.040s clear of Russell, as Mercedes laid down an early marker despite soaring temperatures in Spielberg.
Russell had initially set the pace on the medium tyre before Antonelli moved to the top with a quicker effort. The decisive times came midway through the session when both drivers switched to the soft compound, with Antonelli’s benchmark remaining unbeaten until the chequered flag.
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McLaren and Red Bull encounter early setbacks
Mercedes’ advantage briefly stood at almost a second over the rest of the field as rival teams focused on evaluating new upgrades or dealt with technical issues.
McLaren endured a frustrating start after a hydraulic leak kept reigning world champion Lando Norris in the garage for much of the session. The Briton finally emerged in the closing 15 minutes but completed his running on medium tyres only, ending seventh without a representative soft-tyre qualifying simulation.
Team-mate Oscar Piastri also experienced an interrupted session after reporting brake problems early on. Once those were resolved, the Australian climbed to third, just 0.117s behind Antonelli.
Red Bull’s heavily upgraded RB22 also suffered a difficult start. Max Verstappen remained in the garage for more than 20 minutes with a suspected clutch issue before finally taking to the track. The Dutchman complained of limited grip and poor overall feel from the revised package, but still recovered to finish fourth, 0.281s off the pace.
Lewis Hamilton steadily improved throughout the session to secure fifth for Ferrari, around six tenths behind the leading Mercedes pair.
Rookies gain valuable running
Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed by finishing sixth after briefly holding third during the early stages, while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto claimed eighth.
With this weekend following the standard grand prix format rather than a sprint schedule, several teams took the opportunity to complete one of the mandatory rookie practice appearances.
Dino Beganovic, standing in for Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, was the fastest of the stand-in drivers in ninth, while Haas regular Oliver Bearman completed the top 10.
Ayumu Iwasa finished 15th in Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, Paul Aron was 17th after replacing Gabriel Bortoleto at Audi, Luke Browning took 18th in Carlos Sainz’s Williams, Ryo Hirakawa was 19th for Haas in place of Esteban Ocon, and Jak Crawford rounded out the order after deputising for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin.
Isack Hadjar’s afternoon was compromised by an early engine issue before balance problems left the second Red Bull down in 12th.
The session ran largely without incident until the closing moments, when Sergio Perez ground to a halt at Turn 3 in his Cadillac with just over a minute remaining, bringing the opening practice session to a premature conclusion.
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