With free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix done and dusted, all signs point to a resumption of the McLaren v. Max dynamic that has dominated much of the season so far. The trio locked out the top three in two of the three sessions.
Lando Norris had to sit out FP1 after making way for Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne — the first Irishman to take part in a Formula 1 session since Derek Daly and Tommy Byrne in 1982. Despite some initial radio trouble, the teenager shone from the outset and posted the fourth-fastest time, less than a tenth off championship leader Oscar Piastri. Come session’s end, Dunne’s elation was clear for all to see. The Formula 2 championship leader thanked his team for "making a little boy’s dream come true," hailing it as the greatest day of his life.
Norris returned for FP2 and duly set the fastest time both there and in FP3, the Brit making good use of the fresh updates McLaren have brought to his car this weekend. Despite not being given the same upgrades as his teammate, Piastri was in close attendance throughout. The Australian set times less than two-tenths off Norris in FP2 and FP3.
Max Verstappen will have a new race engineer for this weekend, as Gianpiero Lambiase has had to step aside due to unforeseen circumstances. His place will be taken by Simon Rennie, who long-time fans may remember as the voice in Daniel Ricciardo’s ear when he was at Red Bull. Despite suffering a spin out of the final corner in FP3, Verstappen was able to secure top-three times in every session. The world champion was a noticeable three-tenths of a second off Norris in FP2 but was able to find a tenth relative to his rival in FP3.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda ran wide at Turn 3 in FP1 before suffering a spin in FP3, eventually ending the session in ninth. Turn 3 proved to be a point of contention for much of the grid. In addition to Tsunoda, Franco Colapinto, Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, and Alexander Albon were all caught out by the tricky right-hander.
Having made way for academy driver Dino Beganovic in FP1, Charles Leclerc suffered a couple of off-road excursions in FP2 before clocking the fourth-fastest time in FP3. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, inadvertently obstructed Kimi Antonelli during the second practice session before sending FP3 in fifth, two-tenths behind Leclerc.
Fresh off his first win of the season in Canada, George Russell topped the timesheets in FP1 before securing the sixth-fastest time in both FP2 and FP3. On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Antonelli struggled for grip early on and would eventually end the final session in 11th. With McLaren and Max leading the way thus far, Mercedes and Ferrari look set to scrap over the leftovers.
Aston Martin looks to be the class of the midfield so far, with Lance Stroll going fourth-fastest in FP2 and eighth-fastest in FP3, the Canadian keen to add to his points tally — something he hasn’t done since the sprint race in Miami. Fernando Alonso suffered a massive spin at the end of what he described as the “worst out lap we can do” in FP1, before wryly observing that the error had, at the very least, been made early on.
Elsewhere in the midfield, Sauber look to have found pace, with Gabriel Bortoleto securing top-ten times in each of the free practice sessions — the Brazilian desperate to secure his first career points. His teammate Nico Hülkenberg has done much of the heavy lifting so far this season, having scored all of the team’s 20 points. But having ended FP3 just a tenth off Bortoleto, the Hinwil-based outfit has reason to smile going into qualifying.
