Kimi Antonelli put a clear marker down at the Red Bull Ring. On a short lap where tiny errors carry a brutal cost, the Mercedes rookie led both Friday practice sessions and left the chasing pack with a familiar problem: finding pace without losing balance.
His best FP2 lap of 1:07.014 was 0.237 seconds quicker than Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris third for McLaren. Max Verstappen claimed fourth for Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton followed in fifth for Ferrari, and George Russell ended sixth after failing to match his teammate’s soft-tyre pace in the afternoon.
Friday practice never settles a Grand Prix weekend, especially in Austria. The margins are too narrow. Track limits, rear-tyre temperatures and Turn 3 traction can change the order quickly. Still, Mercedes did more than top a timing sheet. Antonelli gave them a clean, repeatable benchmark.
Antonelli Gives Mercedes The Benchmark
Antonelli’s Friday was not just fast. It was calm.
He started FP1 with a 1:07.796, only 0.040 seconds ahead of Russell. That gave Mercedes an early benchmark on a track notorious for punishing tiny mistakes. The more meaningful statement came later, when Antonelli improved to 1:07.014 in FP2 and stayed clear of the field once the serious soft-tyre runs arrived.
The lap mattered because Spielberg rewards confidence. Drivers have to attack the braking zones into Turns 3 and 4, then keep the car tidy through the final corners, where track limits can destroy a lap. Antonelli looked comfortable enough to build through both sessions rather than chase the car.
Mercedes also had a broader reason to take the day seriously. This has not been their easiest circuit in recent seasons. Their own engineers have spent months preparing for Austria, where altitude stresses the power unit and cooling, while rear tyres can overheat quickly in high track temperatures.
Russell gave the team a useful second reference. He secured second in FP1, then slipped to sixth in FP2 after a scruffy soft-tyre lap. That drop softened the Mercedes picture slightly, but his long-run pace gave the garage enough evidence to believe the car has more than one type of speed.
McLaren Stay Close Despite A Messy Start
McLaren’s Friday could have gone sideways early. Norris lost most of FP1 to a hydraulic leak and only joined late, first completing installation laps on mediums before red flags disrupted his soft-tyre attempt.
That made his FP2 recovery more valuable. Norris climbed to third with a 1:07.339, just behind Piastri. Finishing third in FP1 and second in FP2, Piastri emerged as Antonelli’s closest threat and gave McLaren its cleanest read on the car.
Piastri said in a team release, “We knew Mercedes would be a step ahead, and that’s how it played out.”
That was not defeatism. It was a useful measure of where McLaren sits. The gap is real, but not hopeless. Piastri stayed within 0.237 seconds of Antonelli, while Norris recovered quickly from lost track time. On a 10-corner circuit, that is close enough to keep Mercedes honest if McLaren finds a better setup window overnight.
The complication is the wing test McLaren never completed. The team brought an experimental wing to Austria, but final sign-off checks in the garage did not give them enough confidence to run it. That forced McLaren to focus on optimising its current package rather than testing a potential step forward.
For Saturday, the job is simple. Keep the car stable, sharpen the final sector, and avoid another weekend where Friday promise fades before qualifying.
Red Bull Have Speed But Not Enough Stability
Red Bull’s home weekend started with the garage scrambling rather than the crowd roaring. Isack Hadjar was delayed by a late engine change, while Verstappen stopped in the pit lane with an anti-stall issue. The problem returned after the team tried to send him out again.
Once Verstappen reached the track, the raw pace was still there. He finished fourth in both sessions and set a 1:07.564 in FP2. That kept him in the frame, but the car did not sound like a natural Saturday weapon.
The key issue was driveability. Both Red Bull drivers complained about the RB22 into and out of Turn 3, one of the most important sections of the lap. Verstappen pointed to the need for better front-to-rear grip and more stability. Hadjar said the upgraded car felt off-balance, even if FP2 improved from a messy FP1.
That detail matters more than the headline position. Austria does not give drivers many corners to rescue a lap. If the car hesitates on corner entry or struggles to put power down at Turn 3, the lost time follows it down the straight.
Red Bull does have one reason for patience. Its long-run work looked more encouraging than its short-run speed. That may matter on Sunday, but qualifying comes first, and Verstappen cannot afford to start behind two Mercedes and two McLarens if the race becomes a tyre-management contest.
Ferrari Needs Balance More Than Optimism
Ferrari’s day was solid on paper and unsatisfying in detail.
Hamilton finished fifth in both sessions, but he never looked close enough to Mercedes. His FP1 included a lock-up that flat-spotted his tyres, and his FP2 pace did not make the kind of leap Ferrari needed. Leclerc returned in FP2 after Dino Beganovic handled FP1 in his car, then finished eighth with a 1:07.855.
The problem was not a lack of effort. It was balance and confidence. Hamilton described the circuit as unforgiving, and that showed in the timing gaps. A small weakness at Spielberg can look much bigger because there are so few corners and so little recovery time.
Leclerc’s data will still help Ferrari overnight, especially after missing FP1. Beganovic gave the team useful opening-session information, while Hamilton collected the main race-driver reference across both hours. Now Ferrari must turn that data into a car that can attack the final sector without overheating its rear tyres.
The pressure is squarely on the chasing pack. McLaren has the clearest shot at turning Friday speed into a qualifying threat. Red Bull has to make its upgrades easier to drive. Ferrari needs a cleaner balance window and more lap time from both cars.
Mercedes owns the first answer in Austria. Antonelli provided it twice. Saturday will decide whether it was a warning shot or the start of a weekend Mercedes can control.
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FAQs
Who was fastest in the Austrian Grand Prix Friday practice?
Kimi Antonelli was fastest in both FP1 and FP2 for Mercedes at the Red Bull Ring.
How close was McLaren to Mercedes in Austria practice?
Oscar Piastri finished 0.237 seconds behind Antonelli in FP2, with Lando Norris third for McLaren.
What problems did Red Bull face in Friday’s practice?
Red Bull had early disruption, including Verstappen’s anti-stall issue and driveability concerns around Turn 3.
Why did Ferrari look behind Mercedes in Austria?
Ferrari lacked balance and clean single-lap pace. Hamilton finished fifth in both sessions, while Leclerc ended FP2 eighth.
Can Friday practice predict qualifying in Austria?
Not fully. The Red Bull Ring is short and tight, so small setup gains can change the order quickly.
