FP1: Verstappen heads the Ferrari duo in sole practice session in Austria

F1 Grand Prix, GP Austria, Red Bull Ring

Reigning double champion Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the sole practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix, beating the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. F1Technical's senior writer Balázs Szabó reports from the Red Bull Ring paddock.

With the Austrian Grand Prix sporting the sprint weekend format, drivers have only a single practice session over the three-day race weekend to dial in their cars for the two qualifying sessions, the sprint race and the grand prix.

It was therefore no surprise to see drivers hit the track early on in the session to maximize the track time of 60 minutes. The majority of the field kicked off their setup work on the medium or the hard compound before switching to the softs for the dying minutes of the practice.

It was Max Verstappen to top the session with a time of 1m05.742s, using the yellow-banded medium compound for his fastest lap. The Dutchman needed a late push lap to beat the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Interestingly, the Ferrari duo spent the majority of the session at the back end of the leaderboard as they tested their new upgrades, including a modified floor and a heavily revised front wing.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton displayed eye-catching speed out of the box, leading a great portion of the session. The Briton was not only quick on low fuel, but he also delivered encouraging heavy fuel performance during his second stint. His team mate George Russell appeared to struggle for pace, but a late qualifying simulation saw him improve to P9.

Fernando Alonso posted impressive lap times in the first phase of the session before dropping down the order and finishing down in P8. His team mate Lance Stroll was lagging behind the Spaniard, but his late stint on the soft compound lifted him up to P6.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen took seventh with his team mate Nico Hulkenberg finishing down in P13. Alfa Romeo's driver pairing of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were 10th and 14th respectively.

Bringing up the rear were Williams’ Logan Sargeant and the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who had a low-key start to the weekend.

McLaren's Lando Norris took 20th in his heavily-updated MCL60 after ending the session without a time on softs, albeit his team mate Oscar Piastri set a more impressive lap time, taking 12th in the end.