Antonelli fastest in Austrian Grand Prix FP2 ahead of McLaren drivers
Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in the second practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix, finishing ahead of McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The session at the Spielberg circuit saw cooler temperatures than the earlier practice.
Lando Norris initially led the session on medium tyres, with his teammate Piastri closely behind. However, Antonelli soon claimed the top spot, becoming the first driver to break into the 1m07s bracket. He further improved his time on soft tyres to end the session with the benchmark effort of 1m07.014s.
The session was interrupted by several incidents. Sergio Perez stopped on track, prompting a Virtual Safety Car. Cadillac faced significant issues, with Valtteri Bottas reporting smoke and returning to the pits. Max Verstappen, who had complained about his seat comfort, used the downtime to have it adjusted, eventually finishing the session in fourth place, behind Antonelli, Piastri, and Norris.
Other notable performances included Charles Leclerc improving to fifth place, ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. The top ten was rounded out by George Russell, Isack Hadjar, Leclerc, Liam Lawson, and Gabriel Bortoleto. The Cadillac team finished at the bottom of the timesheets with neither of their drivers able to set competitive laps.
