Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli dominated Friday Practice at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix.
Antonelli comfortably dominated both sessions as he topped FP1 from teammate, George Russell then beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in FP2.
FP1
Ferrari’s FP1 stand-in rookie driver, Dino Beganovic was the first driver out on track but it was Cadillac’s Sergio Perez on the hard tyre who set 1m 13.530 as the initial benchmark time.
Times subsequently began to quickly tumble as Antonelli proceeded to set 1m.09.119 as the more representative benchmark, which he subsequently lowered to 1m 09.001 on the medium tyres in the 15th minute.
Russell however responded a minute later with 1m 08.898 to go quickest, but Antonelli replied with 1m 08.448 to head Russell at the halfway mark.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen meanwhile suffered two separate anti-stall issues in the pitlane before he got out after nearly 20 minutes, and found himself 0.452 seconds behind Antonelli at the halfway mark after he opted for a soft-tyre opening stint.
Antonelli eventually set 1m 07.796 in the 31st minute on his first soft-tyre qualifying simulation to top the session from Russell.
Last year’s Austrian GP winner, Lando Norris finished seventh-quickest as his fastest lap came on the medium tyre, having missed the opening 45 minutes with a hydraulic leak.
The session ended with just over 90 seconds left after Cadillac’s Sergio Perez stopped at Turn 3 with a loss of power, with the Mexican’s fastest lap having been set on the hard tyre.
Beganovic finished quickest out of the FP1 rookie runners in ninth overall position in the classification.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1m 07.796 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.040 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.117 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.281 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.665 |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 0.930 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 1.077 |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 1.166 |
| 9 | Dino Beganovic | Ferrari | + 1.258 |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.275 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 1.369 |
| 12 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 1.685 |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 1.725 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.750 |
| 15 | Ayumu Iwasa | Racing Bulls | + 1.841 |
| 16 | Alex Albion | Williams | + 1.848 |
| 17 | Paul Aron | Audi | + 1.850 |
| 18 | Luke Browning | Williams | + 2.183 |
| 19 | Ryo Hirakawa | Haas | + 2.697 |
| 20 | Jak Crawford | Aston Martin | + 3.406 |
| 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 3.487 |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 3.537 |
FP2
Audi’s Hulkenberg was first on track but his teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto set the initial benchmark time of 1m 10.927 but several drivers soon displaced him, as Norris set 1m 08.000 as the fastest benchmark time on the first flying laps from Piastri by 0.249s.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed in the ninth minute for eight minutes after Perez stopped at Turn 6 with a technical issue, which ended his session prematurely.
Antonelli eventually topped the opening half hour after he lowered the benchmark time in the 26th minute to 1m 07.657 ahead of the soft-tyre qualifying simulations.
Piastri was the first driver on the soft tyre to go faster as he set 1m 07.251 in the 33rd minute, which Antonelli bettered by 0.042s three minutes later.
The Italian subsequently opted for a second soft-tyre flier and managed to set 1m 07.014 with 19 minutes left to top the session from the Aussie by 0.237s.
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas was the only driver to set their fastest lap time on the medium tyre as a heating issue in the hot temperatures ended his session early.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1m 07.014 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.237 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.325 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.550 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.597 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.623 |
| 7 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 0.744 |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.841 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 1.221 |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 1.286 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.362 |
| 12 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 1.364 |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.518 |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 1.545 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 1.816 |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 1.817 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.824 |
| 18 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 2.117 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 3.530 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 3.684 |
| 21 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 4.293 |
| 22 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | No Time |