Russell tops Verstappen in first Austrian GP practice

George Russell edged out Max Verstappen for the top spot of the opening practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Russell set the early benchmark at 1m05.542s, eclipsing Verstappen by just 0.065s. The Mercedes driver enjoyed a straightforward session that saw him take top spot early with the hard tire before consolidating that position with a fresh set of softs.

Verstappen, however, looked less settled and complained of “weird” understeer in his Red Bull early in the hour that saw him commit a big lock-up at the first turn on his opening set of mediums.

McLaren followed, with Oscar Piastri 0.155s off the pace and only 0.069s ahead of rookie Alex Dunne in a superb stand-in performance in Lando Norris’s car.

Dunne, the Formula 2 title leader and a McLaren development driver, was given an evaluation program to begin the hour, his car equipped with aero rakes to test the team’s new parts, including changes to its front suspension.

But the Irishman – the first from his country to participate in a grand prix weekend since Ralph Firman in 2003 – was allowed to unleash on a set of soft tires late. After having topped F2 practice earlier in the day, he duly rocketed up the F1 order with his first attempt on a set of lightly used soft tires in an impressive conclusion to the session for the 19-year-old.

Dunne proved right on the pace in his one-off run for McLaren. Joe Portlock/Getty Images

Pierre Gasly was fifth for Alpine, the Frenchman 0.234s off the pace and heading Gabriel Bortoleto and Williams teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, the latter having set his fastest time on medium tires.

Lewis Hamilton was more than half a second off the pace at the end of a disrupted session that had him spend significant time in his garage. The Briton was recalled with a gearbox issue early in the hour and was sent out late to complete a performance run on softs that left him 0.557s off the pace before returning to pit lane.

Hamilton, who started the session equipped with aero rakes to evaluate Ferrari’s new floor, ended the session with 20 laps completed, by far the fewest of any driver in the session.

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Isack Hadjar completed the top 10 at 0.568s off the pace with a new front wing on his Racing Bulls car.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was 0.588s slower than his session-topping teammate after complaining of struggles with front locking early in the hour and then traffic late.

Nico Hulkenberg was 12th for Sauber ahead of Aston Martin teammates Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, who clumsily spun out of the final corner while preparing for a performance run but was able to continue without damage.

Liam Lawson was 15th for Racing Bulls ahead of Franco Colapinto and Yuki Tsunoda, who lapped 0.655s slower than second-placed teammate Verstappen.

Dino Beganovic took control of Charles Leclerc’s car and spent most of the hour undertaking what appeared to be a test program as part of the Ferrari SF-25’s ongoing development. The 21-year-old Swede, who is 10th in this year’s Formula 2 championship, accumulated more than 30 laps despite spending significant time in his garage with his new floor off with an undisclosed issue. He ended the hour 0.827s off the pace but a respectable 0.27s slower than Hamilton in the sister car.

Haas teammates Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman locked out the bottom of the order 0.968s and 1.196s off the pace respectively.