FP2: Russell heads dominant Mercedes one-two in final Spielberg practice

The third and ultimate free apply session on the Austrian Grand Prix delivered a good hour of operating, with George Russell rebounding strongly to place Mercedes again on prime whereas Ferrari signaled real progress forward of qualifying.

Russell produced the decisive lap of the session within the closing minutes, stopping the clock at 1:07.096s, a time that not solely secured him P1 but in addition restored confidence after a extra muted Friday.

His lap got here on the finish of a sequence of soppy‑tyre runs throughout the sector, and it proved simply sufficient to maintain his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli at bay.

Ferrari’s tempo was the headline story behind Russell. Each vehicles seemed aggressive from the outset, and Lewis Hamilton specifically appeared comfy on low‑gas runs.

His finest lap left him simply 0.115s shy of Russell, underlining Ferrari’s improved stability and traction on the Crimson Bull Ring.

Behind the Mercedes–Ferrari battle, McLaren remained firmly within the combine. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri each delivered constant laps, although neither fairly matched the height efficiency of the highest three.

Crimson Bull endured an encouraging session. Max Verstappen, operating in entrance of his dwelling crowd in his heavily-upgraded RB22, ended the session in sixth place, three tenths again, whereas Charles Leclerc was two tenths slower than Hamilton as he took seventh.

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