Antonelli leads Austrian Grand Prix FP1 from Russell

Kimi Antonelli set the fastest lap in the first practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. The championship leader posted a time of 1m07.796s, narrowly beating his Mercedes teammate George Russell by just over two hundredths of a second. McLaren's Oscar Piastri completed the top three, a tenth further back.

Several drivers experienced issues during the session. Max Verstappen's Red Bull suffered from anti-stall problems, preventing him from setting a time. Lando Norris's McLaren was hampered by a hydraulic leak, limiting his track time. Isack Hadjar also encountered car trouble, and Sergio Perez's session ended prematurely due to a mechanical issue, leading to a red flag.

Despite the challenges, the Mercedes pair of Antonelli and Russell dominated the top of the timesheets for much of the session. While Russell experienced a "weird" throttle pedal, he and Antonelli traded fastest laps on both medium and soft tires. Verstappen eventually got on track late in the session, using the soft tires to move up to fourth place.