Mercedes tops Austria FP1 as McLaren and Red Bull hit trouble

The world championship leader topped the timesheets with a 1m07.796s, pipping Russell by just 0.040s, with Oscar Piastri ending the session in third, a further tenth behind the Mercedes duo.

Piastri’s time was a positive for the Woking squad, which saw both the Australian and his teammate Lando Norris spend much of the session in the garage facing repairs, giving them limited running in the 60-minute session.

It was a similar situation for Red Bull, with both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar also spending large portions of the session in the garage.

Verstappen was able to set the fourth fastest time of the session when he did make it out on track, while Hadjar ended up 12th after a difficult hour.

Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari, with six regular drivers sitting out the session to allow rookies to complete one of their mandatory FP1 outings for the season.

Dino Beganovic was one of those rookies, taking the place of Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc and doing a solid job to end the session in ninth.

He finished behind Arvid Lindblad in sixth, Norris in seventh and Franco Colapinto in eighth, with Oliver Bearman rounding out the top 10 for Haas.

With the session run under stifling hot conditions in Spielberg, it was a slow start for the majority of runners.

Beganovic, Sergio Perez and Ayumu Iwasa were among the first drivers to head out as the session began, while Norris, Verstappen and Hadjar were among those delayed in their respective garages.

Norris was kept in the McLaren garage with a hydraulic leak, while Verstappen initially attempted to join the session before reporting anti-stall issues as he was wheeled back into the Red Bull garage.

The Dutchman tried again shortly afterwards, but again failed to make it out of the pit lane as Red Bull investigated what appeared to be a hydraulic issue of its own.

Russell set the early benchmark with a 1m10.407s, although the Mercedes driver reported the throttle pedal felt strange compared to the previous raceafter locking up at Turn 3.

Antonelli soon moved into the 1m09s with a 1m09.119s as Mercedes quickly established itself at the front, before Russell became the first driver into the 1m08s with a 1m08.898s.

Piastri was also battling issues early in the session, reporting an inconsistent brake pedal as he started his program.

“Brake pedal feels long and inconsistent,” he said over team radio, before later adding he was “struggling quite a lot” with the brakes and that it felt like “a lottery” with how much pedal he had.

Despite that, the McLaren driver was able to move into the top four with his first timed effort before later improving to third on soft tyres, finishing 0.117s off Antonelli’s best.

Antonelli’s fastest lap came on the soft compound, with the Mercedes driver setting a 1m07.796s before Russell slotted in behind him to complete a one-two for the team.

Verstappen eventually made it onto the circuit and moved into fourth with a 1m08.077s, though the Red Bull driver was not happy with the feeling of the car.

He complained of “very little feeling” and said the tyres felt hot with no grip, despite quickly moving towards the front once he was able to complete proper running.

Hamilton also endured a difficult opening practice for Ferrari, reporting that it was “a real struggle” as he battled for confidence in the car.

The seven-time world champion eventually posted a 1m08.461s on soft tyres, leaving him fifth and more than six tenths away from Antonelli’s benchmark.

Norris initially completed his late running on mediums and improved to seventh with a 1m08.873s, although he backed out of a later soft-tyre attempt after running wide at Turn 4.

Nico Hulkenberg was 11^th for Audi, one spot ahead of Hadjar, who reported he did not understand the balance of his car after finally getting on track.

Valtteri Bottas was 13th for Cadillac ahead of Pierre Gasly, Iwasa, Alex Albon, Paul Aron and Luke Browning.

Ryo Hirakawa was 19th ahead of Jak Crawford, who moved clear of Fernando Alonso late in the session before Perez brought FP1 to an early end.

The Cadillac driver had already encountered issues during the session before stopping at Turn 3 in the final minute, triggering a red flag and ensuring there was no further running.

Perez was classified 21st, ahead of Alonso at the bottom of the timesheets.

Second practice at the Austrian Grand Prix gets underway at 5pm local time (1am AEST).

Results: Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, Free Practice 1