First Free Practice Report & Results 2026 Austrian F1 Grand Prix

Event: Austrian F1 GP
Track: Red Bull Ring

Weather: dry 30°C / 87°F & Sunny
Tarmac: dry  50°C / 123°F
Humidity : 31.0%
Wind : 4.3 km/h North East
Pressure: 943 mb

Antonelli Leads Mercedes FP1 One-Two

Kimi Antonelli made the first move of the Austrian grand prix weekend by topping opening practice at the Ring, leading Mercedes team-mate George Russell by just 0.040s in a tidy FP1 session that ended under red flags.

The Italian, who heads into round eight of the 2026 Formula 1 season with a 41-point championship lead over Lewis Hamilton, looked immediately at home in Spielberg. His best lap of 1m07.796s was enough to keep Russell behind, with Oscar Piastri third for McLaren.

Mercedes Start Strong In Spielberg

Mercedes had been tipped to look sharp in Austria, and FP1 did little to dampen that expectation. The Red Bull Ring’s short lap, heavy braking zones and power-sensitive layout appeared to suit the Silver Arrows nicely, even with track temperatures pushing towards 50°C.

Antonelli set the pace on the soft tyre and showed confidence under braking, although he was not entirely flawless. A lock-up earlier in the session left him with a flat-spotted front-left, but it did little to slow his progress.

Russell came closest, ending only four hundredths adrift after improving on his second push lap. Piastri finished third, just over a tenth off Antonelli, giving McLaren some encouragement on a hot day that could make tyre management a major factor.

Problems Hit Norris And Verstappen

Lando Norris had a frustrating start to a weekend at a circuit where he won last year. A suspected hydraulics leak kept his McLaren in the garage for much of the hour, and although he eventually emerged on medium tyres, his soft-tyre attempt was ruined when Sergio Perez stopped on track late in the session.

That brought out the red flags and denied Norris a clean representative lap. Not ideal, particularly with high degradation expected on Pirelli’s softest C3, C4 and C5 range.

Max Verstappen’s home race weekend with Red Bull also began messily. Anti-stall problems stopped him in the pit lane, forcing mechanics to wheel the car back to the garage. He eventually got out and went fourth, but Red Bull lost valuable running on a weekend where the team has brought a significant upgrade package.

Hamilton completed the top five for , though his first soft-tyre effort left him more than seven tenths away from Antonelli before the order settled.

Cadillac Upgrades Bring Mixed Signals

Cadillac arrived in Austria with a sizeable update package, but Perez’s session ended in frustration. After earlier concerns over bodywork, the Mexican stopped on track late on and triggered the red flag that effectively ended FP1.

There was still a bright spot for the American squad, with Valtteri Bottas putting in what Jolyon Palmer called a “very, very solid” performance in the upgraded car. Perez’s stoppage, however, gives Cadillac plenty to unpick before FP2.

Elsewhere, Isack Hadjar lost time with what sounded like a suspected hydraulics issue, then complained over the radio that the balance was “a mess”. Luke Browning also had a rookie moment in the Williams, locking up and running wide, though the generous Red Bull Ring run-off meant there was no real damage done.

Hot Conditions Set The Tone

Austria is officially a heat hazard event this weekend, and the opening session underlined why. Ambient temperatures approached 30°C, while the tarmac climbed close to 50°C.

That will put tyre life and cooling firmly under the microscope. McLaren have generally been strong in warmer conditions this season, but Norris’ lack of running means the team starts the weekend slightly on the back foot.

For Mercedes, though, FP1 was about as clean as it gets. Antonelli needed a response after his costly reliability DNF in Spain, and he delivered the first punch in Austria. It is only Friday practice, of course, but a Mercedes one-two at the Red Bull Ring will have caught everyone’s attention.

FP1 Times Table 2026 Austrian GP

The quickest sector times driven during this FP1 were:

1. 16.742 sec. by Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes W17.
2. 30.304 sec. by Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes W17
3. 20.527 sec. by George Russell, Mercedes W17

Last year the quickest lap time in FP1 was a 1:05.542 min set by Russell with the Mercedes W16.

Check out our 2026 Austrian F1 Grand Prix preview.

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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