KIMI ANTONELLI LEADS FREE PRACTICE 1, VERSTAPPEN AND NORRIS FACE ISSUES
The first practice session at the Red Bull Ring in Austria showed Mercedes starting the weekend in very strong form. The team from Brackley took a one-two finish in FP1, with Kimi Antonelli ahead of George Russell by only 40 thousandths of a second. It was a promising start for Mercedes, which is trying to recover after the disappointment in Barcelona. However, the team still showed some small problems under braking, especially with Antonelli.
McLaren was also close to the top in a slightly messy session. Oscar Piastri finished just 117 milliseconds behind first place, showing strong pace. On the other hand, Lando Norris had a difficult session and spent a long time in the garage because of a hydraulic issue on his car. The much discussed reverse rear wing that was expected to appear in FP1 was not used.
Home favourite Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull Racing. He was not fully happy with the balance of his updated car, even if the pace was still competitive. Behind him was the first of the two Ferraris, driven by Lewis Hamilton, who struggled with the balance of his car. The second Ferrari seat was given to Dino Beganovic for this session, and he finished ninth while thanking the team for the opportunity.
At the start of the session, Mercedes immediately went to the top on medium tyres, with Antonelli leading Russell. Verstappen also had a small problem early on and had to stop at the pits for checks before returning to the track. Ferrari appeared to run their engine in a more conservative mode compared to Mercedes, with a clear speed difference on the straights. Hamilton said it felt like a difficult car to drive at the moment.
Later in the session, Piastri reported issues with the brakes in his McLaren. Norris was still not out on track for part of this time. Meanwhile, rookie Isack Hadjar completed some early laps after his team fixed a power unit issue. When soft tyres were used, the gap at the top became very small again, with Russell closing in on Antonelli.
Mercedes focused early on qualifying-style laps, possibly planning to use later sessions more for race preparation. Hamilton moved up to third at one point, but he was still more than seven tenths behind the leaders. Norris eventually returned to the track, while Piastri stayed very close to the top, only a little over one tenth behind Antonelli. Verstappen was slightly further back but still within a few tenths of the leaders.
The session ended early after a red flag caused by Sergio Pérez, who stopped his Cadillac on track. It brought FP1 in Austria to an early close after a busy and mixed opening hour for all teams.
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