Austrian Grand Prix: Hamilton cautioned for impeding Antonelli in FP2

Lewis Hamilton received a warning from the race stewards following an incident involving Kimi Antonelli during the second free practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix. This hiccup further complicated an already difficult day for the British driver and for Ferrari.

An avoidable incident at turn 4

The incident occurred with just over 40 minutes remaining in the session. Hamilton, driving slowly as he approached turn 4, found himself on Antonelli’s path, who was coming in fast. The Mercedes driver had to widen his line to avoid high-speed contact, briefly leaving the track limits.

Although informed by his team of the Italian driver’s rapid approach and despite checking his mirrors, Hamilton merged onto the racing line. The stewards deemed this action as avoidable interference, stating that it remained unjustified even by the generally more lenient standards of free practice.

The seven-time world champion admitted his mistake, explaining that he had not seen the Mercedes. An explanation deemed insufficient by the officials, who believed that such an incident could have been avoided with more attention. Meanwhile, Antonelli was fined 100 euros for speeding in the pit lane, exceeding the 80 km/h limit by just 0.1 km/h.

Technical issues from the first session

The day had already started badly for Hamilton, slowed down in FP1 by a gearbox problem. Forced to return to the pits prematurely, he saw his running program significantly cut short. Ferrari mechanics intervened to fix the failure, but the time lost prevented any complete race simulation.

Consequently, he was only able to complete a few isolated laps, insufficient to gather useful data on the settings or behavior of the SF-25. A frustrating situation for Hamilton, who had to deal with a truncated preparation before the rest of the weekend.

The difficulties persisted in FP2. By the end of the day, the Briton could do no better than the tenth fastest time, almost a second off the benchmark set by Lando Norris. A gap that reveals the current limitations of the Ferrari on this circuit.

Measured expectations despite the changes

Ferrari, however, brought its first package of upgrades since the Bahrain Grand Prix, notably with a new floor.

After the tests, Hamilton did not try to sugarcoat things. “Not spectacular,” he summarized his Friday. “We had a problem in the morning with the gearbox, which was frustrating for everyone in the garage. The guys did a good job, but we could only do one lap at a time, so we couldn’t complete our long runs.”

The British driver acknowledged the performance gap with the competitors: Charles was six-tenths ahead, I was close to a second, so not ideal. We won’t be at the front, he lamented.

Regarding the impact of the developments made by Ferrari, he was realistic: « A massive amount of work has been done to bring this flat floor, but as you can see, it hasn’t necessarily changed our competitiveness. »

Leclerc shares the observations

Charles Leclerc, who ceded his place to Dino Beganovic during the first practice session, joined Hamilton in analyzing Ferrari’s difficulties. The Monegasque finished fifth in the second session, a misleading result considering his feelings at the wheel.

He expressed his discomfort with the behavior of the SF-25, highlighting the need for thorough work before qualifying. These statements confirm the structural problems of the Ferrari, which go beyond simple adjustments.

Leclerc, however, has identified reasons for hope regarding race pace. The times achieved during long simulations are close to those of the leaders, offering more encouraging prospects for Sunday. This data could prove crucial if Ferrari manages to improve its qualifying performance.

The qualifications promise to be particularly difficult for Ferrari. On a track as short as the Red Bull Ring, gaps narrow and every fraction of a second counts. The current gap compared to McLaren risks relegating Ferrari drivers to compromising starting positions.