11:51
Oh wow! Piastri goes 0.049s off Norris and makes it a McLaren 1-2 in the early stages!
Leclerc in Austria
© XPB Images
F1 Austrian GP Saturday practice and qualifying as it happened
Live coverage of Saturday at the F1 Austrian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Austrian weekend declared a 'Heat Hazard'
- Antonelli topped both Friday sessions
- Ferrari device banned with FIA clampdown
The eighth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull Ring is a firm favourite among drivers and fans, with the long straights and heavy braking zones providing ample opportunities for overtaking action and, more importantly in the modern era, generating electrical energy back into the batteries.
Mercedes arrives in Austria looking to bounce back from a first defeat of the campaign, with Lewis Hamilton having toppled his former team in Barcelona with the assistance of a significant Ferrari upgrade package. However, Mercedes has been forced to remove some serrated edging on its diffuser in response to an FIA technical directive. While it is speculated that this will cost time, Mercedes believes the matter has been overplayed.
This weekend, it is Red Bull which brings the most new parts to the table, as the team attempts to pull closer to the top three outfits, having dropped back in recent weeks.
Kimi Antonelli topped both Friday sessions as George Russell was unable to deliver a clean effort. This left McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the top three, with Russell cautious of the threat consistently posed by the papaya team in hot conditions.
While Mercedes was forced to make changes to its diffuser due to an FIA technical directive, Ferrari has since been told that its exhaust winglet will not be allowed in 2027, with a new draft of the technical regulations detailing the change.
2026 Austrian Grand Prix Saturday schedule
FP3: 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
27 Jun 2026
11:49
Exactly 0.5s off the pace for Russell in P3. That's not brilliant! Antonelli now heads out.
11:48
Only Verstappen and Antonelli are yet to head out, with Piastri just now exiting the garage.
11:48
Hamilton goes second, three tenths back.
11:47
A busy track of 15 drivers now, with Norris setting a strong pace, and he goes to the top, with a 1m07.832s. We said the times would fall!
11:44
This is not what Audi or Alpine would have wanted to see, as Hadjar goes faster than both while on the hard tyres. A 1m09.230s is the early benchmark, but that will come down by a significant amount in no time.
11:41
Hulkenberg and Hadjar make their ways out now. Hard tyres for Red Bull, while Colapinto and Audi waste no time and go straight onto the soft rubber.
11:39
Perez improves to a 1m10.944s, as Colapinto joins what had previously felt like an exclusive test session.
11:37
Now with four laps in the can, Perez is on a very, very slow lap. You can only hope that there isn't a problem, as he's taken 25s longer to complete the first two sectors than it did for him to complete an entire flying lap.
All appears to ok however, as he winds it up and begins a fresh push effort.
11:33
Having made it around two laps, Perez has already gone further than he managed in FP2. Success?
11:30
FP3 Begins!
Final practice is underway, and out comes Perez immediately. Cadillac endured a dreadful time of it yesterday, with significant problems on both cars.
11:26
The music has played, the timing screens are live, and it's time to get going for FP3!
11:19
With less than 15 minutes before FP3 gets underway, can anyone topple Antonelli this weekend? Red Bull brought a significant package that it believes is working as expected, but comments from drivers Verstappen and Hadjar would have you believing otherwise.
Ferrari is an unknown with its new engine, and McLaren look strong.
It'll be tough, but the threats are definitely lining up to take on the Italian!
11:13
Further on ADUO, with the Red Bull engine found to be the best on the grid, team boss Laurent Mekies fears "large implications" if it is unable to develop its product.
The team is also attempting to convince the FIA that it is wrong with its findings, and believes that no data backs up what they have been told.
Hadjar in Austria
© XPB Images
11:05
The topic of the weekend so far has once again been ADUO, the system by which the FIA decides which manufacturer has the best power unit, and who is allowed to make upgrades.
Predicting it would not be the benchmark, Ferrari took a calculated gamble by proceeding with developments, which it has brought to the track this weekend.
Hamilton did run the device on his SF-26 in Austria practice
11:01
A couple of parish notices from the evening to bring you, as Audi and Mercedes both breached the curfew. On both counts Crash.net understands that this was just to complete pre-planned work, and was not to fit new parts or firefight problems.
10:56
As we mentioned, Antonelli led the way on Friday, but the picture was muddied slightly as Russell failed to get a clean qualifying simulation effort in.
You can catch up on all the events of FP2 here...
Antonelli set the pace on Friday in Austria
10:49
Good morning!
Good morning and welcome to the Red Bull Ring for qualifying day at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The sun continues to beat down on the track, which saw Kimi Antonelli set the pace in both Friday sessions.
McLaren looked like the most likely team to pose a threat across FP1 and FP2, but don't discount Ferrari, with the team looking similarly off the pace in Barcelona before turning it around to take a memorable victory with Lewis Hamilton on the Sunday!