FP1: Antonelli leads Mercedes 1–2 as Red Bull and Norris hit trouble at the Red Bull Ring
Andrea Kimi Antonelli opened the Austrian Grand Prix weekend in commanding fashion, heading a Mercedes 1–2 in the first practice session at the Red Bull Ring.
The Italian teenager set the pace ahead of team‑mate George Russell, giving the Silver Arrows an ideal start to a weekend in which they are seeking to rebound from their first defeat of the season.
Mercedes arrived in Spielberg under scrutiny after being forced to remove serrated diffuser edging following an FIA technical directive.
While the modification was expected to cost some performance, the early timesheets suggested the impact may be smaller than feared. Antonelli’s benchmark lap kept the team comfortably ahead of the field in a session marked by reliability issues for several rivals.
Red Bull hit early setbacks despite major upgrade packageRed Bull entered its home race with the largest upgrade package of the weekend, aiming to close the gap to the top three teams after slipping back in recent rounds.
But the opening hour did not run smoothly: both the team and its junior outfit Racing Bulls encountered technical problems that limited running and disrupted their evaluation programme.
The session therefore offered little clarity on whether the seven‑part upgrade will deliver the step forward the team hopes for.
Norris hampered as McLaren abandoned ‘Macarena’ wing
McLaren decided against rolling out its experimental “Macarena” rear wing, and Lando Norris had already cautioned that the part was still in an early development phase and unlikely to be raced for several weeks.
Six rookies share the track in a busy FP1
The session also featured an unusually large group of young drivers, with six rookies fulfilling the FIA‑mandated practice requirement: Dino Beganovic (Ferrari), Ayumu Iwasa (Racing Bulls), Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Luke Browning (Williams) Paul Aron (Audi), ane Jak Crawford (Aston Martin).
Their presence added complexity to traffic management on the short, high‑tempo Red Bull Ring layout, but also provided teams with valuable data and gave the next generation of talent a high‑pressure proving ground.
The Austrian Grand Prix weekend has been declared a Heat Hazard event, with high temperatures expected to influence tyre behaviour, cooling demands, and long‑run performance. Combined with the influx of upgrades—particularly from Red Bull and Cadillac —the session marked the beginning of a strategically significant weekend in the 2026 development race.
