Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli made an impressive start to the Austrian Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in both practice sessions on Friday. The Mercedes driver finished just ahead of teammate George Russell in the first session before beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the second.
The 19-year-old Italian is looking to bounce back after retiring in Spain, which ended his run of five straight race wins. Mercedes also returned to form after Lewis Hamilton gave Ferrari their first victory of the season in the previous race.
Piastri was quick throughout the day and believes Mercedes currently have the advantage, although he said McLaren collected valuable data for the rest of the weekend. Lando Norris also looked competitive, finishing third in the second session after missing much of the opening practice because of a hydraulic problem.
Max Verstappen was fourth in both sessions but Red Bull had a difficult day. The Dutch driver complained that his car was shaking badly under braking, while teammate Isack Hadjar missed much of the first session after an engine problem forced the team to make a late change. Team boss Laurent Mekies also revealed that Verstappen’s car suffered software issues.
Ferrari experienced a mixed day. Reserve driver Dino Beganovic replaced Charles Leclerc in the first session and finished ninth before Leclerc returned for the second practice, where he was eighth. Hamilton finished fifth in both sessions but said Ferrari still needed to improve the car’s balance and overall performance.
The two practice sessions also featured several incidents. Sergio Perez brought out the red flags late in the first session after stopping on track in his Cadillac, while teammate Valtteri Bottas suffered a small fire in the pit lane after returning with suspension damage. Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa also accidentally knocked over one of the team’s mechanics after overshooting his pit box, although no one was injured.
Antonelli now leads Hamilton by 41 points in the championship after seven rounds and will head into qualifying full of confidence after a strong opening day in Austria.
