Austrian Grand Prix – Free practice: Max Verstappen leads despite engine failure, McLaren and Mercedes hide their games

This first session in Austria is crucial for all teams. Indeed, it will be the only practice session of the weekend, due to the Sprint format. So, no room for error for the drivers. They will also have to adapt to the changes made to the Red Bull Ring track: small gravel traps have been added to turns 9 and 10 to limit exceeding track limits. This was a real issue last year as 1200 infringements were reported during the Grand Prix.

It is 12:30 in Spielberg, the session can start under a grey sky, but no rain. The stands of the Red Bull Ring are already well filled for a Friday.

The progress of the session

Most single-seaters quickly take off at the start of the session: there is no time to lose.

The drivers put on hard or medium tires, and immediately start their laps. The two Mercedes quickly find themselves at the front: Lewis Hamilton is less than a tenth ahead of his teammate. The two drivers exchange the best time, George Russell takes the lead again, 15 minutes after the start of the session.

Max Verstappen, who usually starts his weekends calmly, is immediately in the rhythm: he climbs up to 3rd place on medium tires, just behind the Mercedes. Sergio Perez follows suit.

The drivers are under pressure, the traffic on the track is heavy and some are bothering each other. This is the case with Charles Leclerc and Nico Hülkenberg: the latter complains about it on the radio. Later in the session, Yuki Tsunoda also complains about a maneuver by Alex Albon.

Steering issues for Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda…

Lando Norris has been suffering from a power steering issue since the start of the practice session: he feels resistance in the steering wheel when turning right, while it is much easier for him to turn left. He had already experienced this issue in the final laps of the Miami GP, during his first F1 victory. He is not the only one complaining about a steering problem, as Yuki Tsunoda is also experiencing an issue with his Racing Bulls.

After 20 busy minutes, the drivers return to the pits. It’s an opportunity to take a quick look at the standings: Mercedes are still in the lead, followed by Red Bull. Lando Norris is in 5th place followed by the 2 Ferrari drivers. The 2 French drivers are in 10th and 12th place, while the Aston Martin drivers are struggling towards the bottom of the hierarchy.

… engine issue for Max Verstappen and red flag!

At half-time, all cars return to the track, most on medium tires. Max Verstappen can’t sit still, he’s tempted to overtake Oscar Piastri in the pit lane exit. A few minutes later, he’s stopped on the starting straight! It’s the engine! Red flag, the session is stopped. It’s a recurring problem since he had already experienced an engine issue during a practice session in Canada three weeks ago. It’s less serious this time for the Red Bull driver: the engine didn’t break, he’s back on track less than ten minutes after stopping.

Kevin Magnussen has a little scare in the final corner… He runs wide and goes beyond the new gravel traps. These have not been very solicited so far, the drivers remain wise in turns 9 and 10.

Switching to soft eraser, lap times drop

With ten minutes left in the session, the standings haven’t changed. But so far, the drivers have been putting in consistent laps on medium/hard tires. They now go out with soft tires, the lap times will drop!

Lance Stroll is the first to take off: he sets the second time, one-tenth behind Lewis Hamilton, still holding the best lap record. The cars are lighter at the end of the session, the fuel level in the tanks is much lower.

The 2 Ferraris take the lead, immediately beaten by Max Verstappen by more than 3 tenths! He is leaving everyone behind. George Russell, then on a very good lap, is ahead on some sectors but is hindered by traffic. He gives up his attempt. Lando Norris ends up in the gravel at turn number 4, following the longest straight line of the track.

Mercedes and McLaren were unable to set a clean qualifying lap time. It is ultimately difficult to see clearly before this afternoon’s Sprint qualifying. The Ferraris seem slightly more competitive than in Spain.

The ranking of Free Practices