Austrian Grand Prix practice sees McLaren challenge Mercedes

By Owen Davies — 26 June 2026 — 3 min read

During Friday practice at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli recorded the fastest single-lap time. He finished 0.237 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The second McLaren, driven by Lando Norris, secured the third-fastest time. Following them were Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.

The practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring were marked by high temperatures, leading to challenges with tyre degradation and brake performance, a recurring issue seen in previous races like Barcelona and Montreal. Drivers noted difficulties, but a clearer picture of the competitive order began to emerge.

McLaren’s Strong Showing

McLaren demonstrated strong performance in both single-lap pace and long-run simulations. In FP2, Piastri and Norris secured second and third positions respectively in single-lap times. Piastri acknowledged McLaren’s position as potentially the “best of the rest” behind Mercedes, though he anticipated Mercedes would find additional pace for Saturday’s sessions.

On long runs, Norris’s pace was comparable to that of Mercedes, particularly when considering the longer stint lengths completed by Norris and Piastri. George Russell of Mercedes identified McLaren’s pace as a significant concern, noting a trend of their strength in hot conditions, which was also observed in races such as Miami and Barcelona.

The data from FP2 long runs showed Russell with an average lap time of 1m11.220s over four laps, closely followed by Antonelli at 1m11.265s over six laps. Norris achieved 1m11.466s over eight laps, while Verstappen recorded 1m11.704s over nine laps. Lewis Hamilton posted 1m11.773s over six laps, and Piastri 1m11.777s over eight laps, all on medium tyres.

Ferrari’s Performance and Red Bull’s Upgrades

Ferrari’s Friday performance in Austria appeared less dominant, with the team placing fifth and eighth in both single-lap and long-run pace. Despite bringing an engine upgrade for the weekend, the team did not immediately replicate the pace seen during Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Spain. Hamilton was 0.597 seconds off the fastest pace, with teammate Charles Leclerc 0.244 seconds further back.

Mercedes deputy team boss Bradley Lord suggested that Ferrari might not have shown their full potential, a sentiment echoed by McLaren’s technical director of engineering, Neil Houldey. However, Leclerc expressed less confidence about a turnaround similar to Barcelona, describing Friday as a “struggle” for the team.

Red Bull introduced a major upgrade for the Austrian Grand Prix, with team boss Laurent Mekies hoping to reduce the gap to the front by two to three tenths of a second. However, Friday practice indicated a larger deficit. Both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar reported issues with the car’s balance, limiting their ability to extract maximum performance. Despite a challenging start, Verstappen’s FP2 long run showed promising signs, suggesting he could be within two to three tenths of the leading cars.

Tight Midfield Competition

The midfield demonstrated close competition, with teams like Audi showing strength. Nico Hulkenberg, driving for Audi, averaged 1m12.134s during a nine-lap stint on hard tyres, a pace comparable to Alpine and Racing Bulls, with Haas slightly behind. The key for Audi will be converting this promising practice pace into strong race results on Sunday.

Williams expressed dissatisfaction with their high-fuel runs and will need to improve to contend in the midfield. The upgraded Cadillac’s performance was difficult to assess due to various issues encountered on Friday, although Valtteri Bottas showed a promising lap in FP1. Aston Martin, with an unchanged car, remained positioned as the 11th fastest car at the Red Bull Ring.

The practice sessions indicate a competitive weekend ahead, with Kimi Antonelli setting the fastest single-lap time of 1m07.014s in FP2.

Source: the-race.com