Third Free Practice Report & Results 2026 Austrian F1 Grand Prix

Event: Austrian F1 GP
Track: Red Bull Ring

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (3) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Ford on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 26, 2026 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Sam Bloxham/LAT Images)

Weather: dry 31°C / 89°F & Sunny
Tarmac: dry  52°C / 125°F
Humidity : 31.0%
Wind : 3.6 km/h East
Pressure: 944 mbar

Russell Ends Antonelli’s Austrian Streak

George Russell finally found a way past Kimi Antonelli at the Ring, edging his Mercedes team-mate by just 0.038s in final practice for the 2026 Austrian grand prix.

Antonelli had owned Friday, topping both FP1 and FP2, but Russell’s late 1m07.096s ended the teenager’s run at the top and set up a properly spicy Mercedes qualifying fight. Lewis Hamilton added another twist by putting third, only 0.115s off the pace, as the front of the field tightened before qualifying.

Russell Strikes Back At Mercedes

After Friday, this had looked like Antonelli’s weekend to lose. He had been quick from the moment the cars rolled out, especially through the final sector, and Mercedes appeared to have given him a car planted firmly in the sweet spot.

FP3 changed the mood slightly.

Russell had looked second-best for much of the weekend, particularly after finishing more than six tenths behind Antonelli in FP2. But when it mattered late in final practice, he pieced together the lap he needed. His tyres were already five laps old, yet he still improved enough to take top spot.

That will do his confidence no harm at all. It was also the first time Russell had been ahead of Antonelli all weekend, and the timing could hardly have been better.

Antonelli Still Looks Dangerous

Russell may have ended the session fastest, but there was little in Antonelli’s FP3 that looked especially worrying.

The Italian’s best lap came earlier, before the track was at its absolute best, and he did not improve on his second set of softs. Toto Wolff noted that Antonelli lost time at Turn 1, where the car appeared to snap sideways, but the underlying pace remained obvious.

That is the key point. Antonelli was not beaten by a comfortable margin. He was beaten by 0.038s after setting his best lap before the late track evolution. In other words, Mercedes now appear to have two drivers genuinely capable of taking pole.

After Antonelli’s Friday dominance, that is exactly the sort of intra-team pressure Mercedes would probably like and Russell desperately needed.

Hamilton Puts Ferrari Back In The Picture

Ferrari looked slightly underwhelming on Friday, but Hamilton’s FP3 gave the Scuderia a more convincing reason to believe.

The seven-time world champion ended up third, just 0.115s behind Russell, and looked far more involved than he had during FP2, when understeer and lock-ups made his afternoon rather untidy.

Ferrari’s upgraded power unit has not suddenly turned the car into the class of the field, but Hamilton at least appears close enough to make qualifying uncomfortable for Mercedes. Around Spielberg, with its short lap and heavy braking zones, that matters.

Leclerc, though, remains harder to read. He finished seventh and still does not look quite as settled as Hamilton. His brake issue appears to have been solved, but the Monegasque is not yet carrying the same conviction through the weekend.

McLaren Remain Close Enough

McLaren’s session kept them in the conversation, without quite suggesting they had found the missing slice needed to beat Mercedes outright.

Piastri improved late to move into fourth, 0.210s off the benchmark, continuing what has been a tidy and quietly effective Austrian weekend. Norris was also in the mix after recovering from Friday’s hydraulic leak, though McLaren still look fractionally short of the final punch required for pole.

The papaya cars have enjoyed the Red Bull Ring in recent seasons, and they are close enough to punish any Mercedes or Ferrari errors. But on pure one-lap evidence, they may need a particularly clean lap, or some help from the others, to steal the front row.

Red Bull Still Searching At Home

Red Bull arrived at its home race with a sizeable upgrade package, including changes around the sidepods, front suspension and floor. So far, it has not looked plug-and-play.

Team principal Laurent Mekies admitted the team was still evaluating which parts of the package were working, with Sebastien Buemi running overnight simulator work to help push the set-up in the right direction.

Verstappen was delayed at the start of FP3 and only emerged later on the soft tyre. He had shown flashes of speed on Friday, but the RB22 still does not look as settled as the Mercedes. Given Verstappen’s record at the Red Bull Ring, five poles and five wins at the venue, he can never be dismissed. But right now, it feels like he needs one of those slightly ridiculous Verstappen laps to properly trouble Mercedes.

Heat And Tyres Complicate The Picture

Track temperature climbed above 51°C during FP3, adding another layer to an already tight qualifying picture.

The C5 soft was just about capable of delivering a second push lap on Friday, and Piastri again showed that an improvement on a second attempt was possible. But the heat also brought sliding, thermal degradation and mistakes, with several drivers running wide as the rear tyres started to complain.

That makes qualifying finely balanced. A second push lap may be there in some phases, but by Q3 the soft tyre will likely be at its best for one serious attempt. Get Turn 1 wrong, run too deep at Turn 3, or cook the tyres through the middle sector, and the lap will be gone.

Mercedes Hold The Advantage

FP3 did not destroy Antonelli’s authority from Friday, but it did change the shape of the weekend.

Russell has turned Antonelli’s private Mercedes show into a proper qualifying fight. Hamilton has dragged Ferrari closer. McLaren remain close enough to be irritating. Red Bull still have Verstappen, which is never a small detail at this circuit.

But the headline remains Mercedes. They have topped all three practice sessions, first through Antonelli and now through Russell. The W17 looks fast, the gaps are tiny, and qualifying has all the ingredients for a proper intra-team scrap.

Antonelli set the Austrian tone on Friday. Russell has made sure Saturday will not belong to him by default.

FP3 Times Table 2026 Austrian GP

The quickest sector times driven during this FP3 were:

1. 16.577 sec. by Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull RB21.
2. 30.004 sec. by George Russell, Mercedes W16.
3. 20.224 sec. by Max Verstappen, Red Bull RB21.

Last year the quickest lap time in FP3 was a 1:04,580 min set by Norris with the McLaren MCL39.

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.

Related topics