Kimi Antonelli Leads Mercedes 1-2 in Austrian FP1

Kimi Antonelli made the strongest possible start to the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix by leading Mercedes team-mate George Russell to a one-two finish in the opening Formula 1 practice session.

Antonelli responded well after retiring from the previous round in Barcelona, as Mercedes immediately demonstrated competitive pace around the Red Bull Ring. Oscar Piastri completed the top three to keep McLaren firmly in contention.

Max Verstappen began evaluating Red Bull Racing's extensive upgrade package but lost valuable track time because of software-related issues. Team-mate Isack Hadjar also remained in the garage for around half an hour while the team addressed a power unit problem.

Read AlsoMaverick Vinales Says KTM Has Already Decided His Future

Lando Norris endured a difficult start to the weekend after McLaren detected a hydraulic leak on his car. The issue kept the championship contender in the garage for almost 45 minutes, significantly reducing his running during FP1.

Further down the order, Lewis Hamilton continued Ferrari's encouraging form following his Barcelona victory, while Dino Beganovic emerged as the fastest of the six rookie drivers after replacing Charles Leclerc for the opening session.

With the complete FP1 classification already available through the Sportrik database, attention now shifts to the next practice session, where teams will continue refining their packages after several reliability concerns emerged during the opening hour of running at Spielberg.