Russell tops Austria GP in final practice sprint

Russell tops – George Russell edged past Kimi Antonelli to go fastest in the final Austria Grand Prix practice session, setting the tone just before Qualifying at 1600 local time.

George Russell didn’t wait for anyone else’s mistake in the closing stages of Free Practice 3 at the Austrian Grand Prix. In a session that began quietly and warmed up fast under the Red Bull Ring’s 31-degree heat. Russell found the lap that mattered—pipping team mate Kimi Antonelli to top the timesheets as the paddock turned its attention to Qualifying.

The morning’s running had already been unsettled for Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. with both having issues that cut their Free Practice 2 sessions short. Perez was first to go in FP3 at 1230 local time. and for a time the circuit looked almost empty—until around 10 minutes into the hour. when more cars finally rolled out to put early laps on the board.

On that hot track, tyre choices started to separate teams. Most of the field leaned toward soft tyres early. with Lando Norris stepping up and topping the timesheets after 20 minutes thanks to a 1m 07.832s lap in the McLaren. But it was not a clean run. Norris was later told his left mirror was “completely broken” before returning to the pits.

Oscar Piastri slotted into second at one point, only to be pushed down when Antonelli stormed to the front. Verstappen. the last driver to hit the track. moved into second as well—but his session came with its own disruption. He reported “constant weird interference” and said he would need to change his earplugs.

As the clock moved toward the halfway point, Antonelli remained quickest, posting 1m 07.533s. Charles Leclerc progressed into second, while Russell sat third. Further down the order, Williams’ Carlos Sainz—listed down in P18—was shown a black and white flag for driving unnecessarily slowly.

Russell responded when it mattered. He climbed into second, but Antonelli kept answering. Another flyer for the Italian improved his benchmark to 1m 07.134s. leaving him just over four tenths ahead of his team mate. The Red Bull team appeared to be splitting strategies: Isack Hadjar had spent many laps on the hard tyre. while Verstappen continued on the soft.

With conditions only getting hotter, trouble kept popping up. Sainz slid off track entering the final corner. Meanwhile, the frontrunners bolted on new sets of soft tyres and attention shifted to whether anyone could topple Antonelli’s pace.

Lewis Hamilton set the early tone of the fastest lap in the first sector, but the lap ended with him 0.77s behind the championship leader. Leclerc also suffered a moment at the top end—he had a lock-up into Turn 3. Antonelli, despite staying P1, didn’t improve on his previous effort. Russell did.

Russell outpaced him on the final run to sneak into top spot with a 1m 07.096s lap—just 0.038s quicker than the other Mercedes. Hamilton ended up third, 0.115s behind Russell, with Piastri and Norris next in fourth and fifth.

Verstappen finished sixth. Leclerc. Hadjar and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top 10. while Pierre Gasly was classified 11th for Alpine. Behind them came Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto for Audi. followed by Franco Colapinto in the sister Alpine and Haas duo Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon.

The rest of the classification showed more attrition and shake-ups that will matter when the cars line up for Qualifying. Sainz and Alex Albon were P17 and P18 for Williams. Perez and Bottas ended down in P19 and P20 for the Cadillacs. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll occupied the final slots of P21 and P22 for Aston Martin.

With Free Practice 3 complete, the focus in the paddock now turns to Qualifying, scheduled to get underway at 1600 local time—after Russell’s late surge ended Antonelli’s first-place hold in the closing moments.

Austrian Grand Prix Free Practice 3 George Russell Kimi Antonelli Mercedes Red Bull Ring Lando Norris Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Oscar Piastri Qualifying