Austrian GP: Mercedes top FP1; Norris and Verstappen problems

Mercedes made a perfect start to the Austrian Grand Prix weekend as Kimi Antonelli headed an FP1 one-two from George Russell.

Things were not so smooth for the newly-upgraded Red Bull, with both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar suffering issues. McLaren’s Lando Norris, meanwhile, missed much of the session with a suspected hydraulic issue.

Austrian GP: Verstappen and Norris setbacks as Mercedes thrive

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It was a story of upgrades galore as the Austrian Grand Prix race weekend got underway. Red Bull arrived armed with a seven-part package, its most aggressive upgrade push of the season so far.

McLaren had its own ‘Macarena’ wing now in the arsenal, while Cadillac has brought 10, yes, 10 performance upgrades to the Red Bull Ring.

Meanwhile, the FIA issued a new Technical Directive ahead of FP1, in a move to shut down increasingly elaborate diffuser designs.

The FIA was once more trialling different rear lights colours to indicate MGUK power derating, following initial tests in Canada and Barcelona. The test would run in FP1 and FP2, ahead of an evening decision over whether to keep it for the rest of the race weekend.

We had a track temperature of 49 degrees Celsius, 29 air, for the start of FP1 on a race weekend where a heat hazard has been declared, amid the ongoing heatwave in Europe.

Austria FP1 saw several young drivers hop in for a rookie session. Jak Crawford was in for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin. Dino Beganovic took over Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Luke Browning was in at Williams, replacing Carlos Sainz.

Riyo Hirakawa was at the wheel of the Haas usually driven by Esteban Ocon. Paul Aron replaced Garbiel Bortoleto for Audi. It was Ayumu Iwasa in for Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls.

The McLaren of Lando Norris, and Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull were up on the stands as the light went green to get FP1 underway.

McLaren were investigating a potential hydraulic leak on Norris’ car.

Max Verstappen tried to go out, but his Red Bull quickly came to a stop in the pit lane. He was suffering from anti-stall every time he released the clutch. He tried once more to head out, but again was forced back to the garage.

This was not the start which Red Bull had in mind at its home race, as it looked to get those upgrades bedded in for the race weekend.

George Russell was complaining of a weird-feeling throttle pedal.

A 1:09.119 from championship leader Kimi Antonelli, on the medium tyres, was the early benchmark time to chase.

Verstappen finally made it out onto the track with just over 40 minutes remaining.

George Russell had gone P1 on a 1:08.898, the Mercedes forming an early, unchallenged one-two. Antonelli struck back with a 1:08.448.

Verstappen, on the softs, popped up to third on his opening run, six-tenths off Antonelli’s pace.

As he pumped in the laps, Verstappen complained of a lack of grip, overheating tyres and no grip.

Piastri, running in P4, complained of a long and inconsistent brake pedal.

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Lewis Hamilton, the winner last time out in Barcelona, overshot Turn 1 as he looked to break into the top five. Beganovic did the same, but was currently in a frame that moment, as he sat fifth, a tenth ahead of Hamilton.

The Mercedes duo were now on softs as Antonelli uncorked a 1:07.796. Russell slotted in a tenth behind. Verstappen, in third, was 1.1 seconds off Antonelli’s ultimate pace.

As FP1 ticked past the halfway mark, Hadjar at last joined Verstappen out on track.

Arvid Lindblad was going strong as he popped up to third ahead of the final soft runs.

Sergio Perez briefly “lost ignition” in his Cadillac but was soon back up to speed. Norris was finally in action with a quarter of FP1 to go. He went P7, albeit on the medium rubber.

Piastri was also back on the yellow-walled mediums, and turned heads by lapping within 0.12s of the Mercedes, as he shot up to third. Antonelli was next to complain about the brakes.

All eyes on Norris as he set off with the softs… He backed off after the middle sector.

As Perez encountered fresh power issues, stopping on the hill up to Turn 1, the red flags were deployed, bringing FP1 to an early conclusion.

Full FP1 timesheet

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:07.796
2 George Russell Mercedes +0.040
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.117
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.281
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.665
6 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +0.930
7 Lando Norris McLaren +1.077
8 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.166
9 Dino Beganovic Ferrari +1.258
10 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.275
11 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1.369
12 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing +1.685
13 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +1.725
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.750
15 Ayumu Iwasa Racing Bulls +1.841
16 Alexander Albon Williams +1.848
17 Paul Aron Audi +1.850
18 Luke Browning Williams +2.183
19 Ryo Hirakawa Haas F1 Team +2.697
20 Jak Crawford Aston Martin +3.406
21 Sergio Perez Cadillac +3.487
22 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +3.537

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