F1 Austrian GP: Antonelli tops both practice, reliability problems and rookies
26th June 2026Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli topped both practice sessions as Formula 1 arrived at the Red Bull Ring ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Antonelli’s bounce back
Antonelli hit the track running in Austria as the Italian looks to bounce back from an untimely retirement in Barcelona. The young Mercedes driver set the fastest lap times of both Free Practice sessions on Friday.
The championship leader led a 1-2 for the Brackley-based squad in the first hour, setting a time 0.04s faster than his teammate, George Russell, with a 1m 7.796s lap. However, Antonelli went on to improve this in the second hour, setting a 1m 7.014s time.
In the second hour, he was 0.2s faster than the closest McLaren of Oscar Piastri as the Woking team’s defending world champion, Lando Norris, rounded out the top three.
Reliability woes
Under the heat of the Austrian sun, the problem was not just the heat of the ongoing heatwave, but also problems for the drivers.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion, Max Verstappen, suffered problems in FP1 trying to get his car out on track. He was seen pulling to the side of the fast lane and then pushed into the garage.
Trouble didn’t stop there as the Dutchman suffered a problem with his seat, forcing him to come back into the pits for repairs. He and his teammate, Isack Hadjar, also complained of trouble with the power unit of their cars, especially around turn three.
Cadillac’s Sergio Perez brought out an early end to the opening practice session as his car suffered mechanical problems. This continued into FP2, but also included his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who was forced to pull off the circuit with his own car problems.
FP1 Rookies
Just like Barcelona, the race prior, FP1 was filled with rookies participating in the teams’ regulated rookie sessions.
Dino Beganovic replaced Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, Ayumu Iwasa replaced Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls, Luke Browning took charge of Carlos Sainz’s Williams, Esteban Ocon stepped aside for Ryo Hirakawa, Paul Aron took over Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi and Jak Crawford replaced Lance Stroll at Aston Martin.
Beganovic was the fastest driver of the six rookies, finishing 1.258 seconds adrift of Antonelli’s best time in FP1 in ninth. Six positions back, Iwasa occupied 15th as Paul Aron finished 17th.
Luke Browning, having missed out on running in Barcelona, finally got some on-track action and finished 18th, behind Aron as Hirakawa and Crawford completed the FP1 rookies in 19th and 20th.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Mercedes given ‘reality check’ ahead of Austrian Grand Prix
- McLaren to bring ‘experimental rear wing’ to Austrian Grand Prix
- Austrian Grand Prix: F1 schedule and starting times
- Austrian Grand Prix: Latest weather forecast as heatwave soars temperatures
- Mercedes withdraw Right of Review against Monaco Penalties
- McLaren confirm Norris in attendance for 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
