George Russell sets the fastest time during the first free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen performs well, placing his Red Bull impressively in second place on the Red Bull Ring. Oscar Piastri rounds off the top three in Spielberg. Could we be witnessing a repeat of Canada?
The race weekend in Austria begins under a grey cloud cover. For the first time in years, there is no sprint weekend in Spielberg, making this the first of three free practices on the Red Bull Ring. Eighteen familiar names take the wheel, and two drivers make their debut. Alex Dunne takes over Lando Norris’s seat at McLaren, and Dino Beganovic replaces Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.
Many teams use this session as a test, and we therefore see quite a few cars with aero rakes and flow vis leaving the pit lane. The circuit is located 700 meters above sea level, which impacts both the aerodynamics and the cooling. Mercedes has even had larger cooling inlets screwed onto the car.
During the session, drivers here and there shoot off the track due to missing the braking point, but nobody does it as badly as Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard spins in his warm-up lap and comes to a standstill on the straight. He apologizes to his team and can continue his way. Not much later, Esteban Ocon also spins around.
Splashes of Rain
George Russell leads the timesheet for almost the entire session. Max Verstappen, without his regular race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase this weekend, places his Red Bull in second place, just six hundredths behind the Brit. The many Dutch fans who always fill the stands in Austria breathe a sigh of relief.
In the closing minutes, a few drops fall on the asphalt, preventing any further improvement in times. Thus, Russell ends the session fastest, followed by Verstappen and Piastri. Debutant Dunne performs well, placing the McLaren in fourth position.
