A few drivers are sticking around in the cockpits, but most are now out. There might be a mad scramble if they are allowed to do the practice starts.
We're back! Welcome back to Austria for FP2. It was a Mercedes 1-2 in FP1, but with reliability a huge issue in the earlier session, this may not be a straightforward hour for the 22 drivers.
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Kimi Antonelli heads Mercedes 1-2 as Red Bull, Lando Norris hit trouble in F1 Austrian GP first practice
Andrea Kimi Antonelli headed Mercedes team-mate George Russell for a Silver Arrows 1-2 as several Formula 1 rivals hit trouble in opening practice at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Antonelli, who retired late on in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix last time out, was just 0.040 seconds quicker than Russell, with Oscar Piastri only 0.117s off the pace for McLaren as he took third.

2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix - Friday Practice Results
Kimi Antonelli led the way in free practice one at the Austrian Grand Prix.
In scorching temperatures, Mercedes re-established itself at the top of the time-sheets with Antonelli leading George Russell in a 1-2 for the team.

The top 10 at the end of FP1 are:
- Antonelli
- Russell
- Piastri
- Verstappen
- Hamilton
- Lindblad
- Norris
- Colapinto
- Beganovic
- Bearman
The clock ticks down to zero, and drivers will likely not get to complete practice starts. They can't be performed at the pit exit as would normally be the case, limiting them to post-session attempts on the grid. No word from the FIA on whether these will happen, but drivers are out of the cars.
The red flags are shown to allow Perez's car to be recovered.
For the second time in the session, Perez loses the electrics and crawls to a halt. Unlike last time, he can't get going again. He has stopped on the run up to Turn 3.
Lots of flow-vis paint on the rear wing of Verstappen's Red Bull. Old softs on the car, and he's on more of a race run.
Hadjar is complaining about the balance of his Red Bull, describing it as "a mess".
Of the rookie runners, Beganovic is the fastest in P9.
With all 22 drivers having set times, including Norris who is in P7, the Aston Martin drivers are slowest, with Alonso in P21 - 3.5s off the pace - and rookie Crawford slowest, 4.4s back.
With little under 15 minutes remaining in FP1, Norris finally hits the track for the first time this weekend. Sadly, McLaren elected against running its Macarena wing, although that will be the least of Norris's concerns right now.
A flier from Piastri moves him to 0.117s off Antonelli in P3.
On his most recent run, a first on softs, Hamilton moves up to P3. Lindblad is currently impressing in P4, as Hadjar takes a trip across the run-off at Turn 1. Antonelli follows him off a few moments later.
P13 with Hadjar's first effort. He's some way off Verstappen's opening gambit, but the simple fact that he's out on the track is the main thing.
Hadjar is finally out on the track. On soft tyres immediately, he's pushing on.
A standout performance right now is Beganovic in P6, just ahead of Hamilton. Or he was. As we type, Hamilton reverses the positions. Whatever, it remains an impressive showing from the Ferrari rookie.
A little over halfway through the session, here is the top 10.
- Antonelli
- Russell
- Verstappen
- Piastri
- Hulkenberg
- Beganovic
- Hamilton
- Lindblad
- Bearman
- Gasly
1m07.796s for Antonelli moves him around 0.7s clear of his previous benchmark. Russell goes 0.119s slower, but Mercedes has an advantage of around one second to the next fastest driver - Max Verstappen.
Purple sectors from Antonelli with Russell slower, but not by much.
Out come the Mercedes duo on soft tyres. Verstappen is now complaining about having no grip, with his tyres feeling like they're constantly overheating.
With temperatures of over 50 °C on the track, this is hardly a surprise.
The Mercedes drivers are back in the garage, as Hamilton suffers a huge lock-up into Turn 3, locking both fronts and sending smoke signals as he runs massively wide.
Piastri reports a long brake pedal. That's at least a normal problem!

