Antonelli dominates FP1 as technical issue strike Verstappen, Norris in Austria

The session kicked off in anything but a smooth manner, with several reliability issues plaguing several drivers across the pit lane. While Dino Berganovic, who was replacing Charles Leclerc for the session, was the quickest to the end of the pit lane, several drivers, including Lando Norris, were forced into a lengthy wait.

The McLaren driver suffered an early issue with his car, with the McLaren team confirming it was investigating a hydraulic problem. Norris wasn’t the only driver with issues, with both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar plagued by relatively different issues.

Verstappen, who was the first of the Red Bull duo, would see his newly upgraded RB22 stop barely five metres after leaving the garage. While team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed it to be an engine issue, the problem would resurface shortly after it appeared to be resolved. This time, the Dutch driver would get only as far as the front of the Scuderia Ferrari garage before stopping.

Teammate Isack Hadjar also experienced a delayed start to his session, with his car being placed on the blocks by the Red Bull mechanics for some extra work. Amid the chaos in the pit lane, Ayumu Iwasa, who was standing in for Liam Lawson during the session, had a moment where he collided with his mechanic.

Shifting focus to on-track action, it was the Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell leading the timing sheets. With a lap time of 1:07.796, the young Italian was just over four hundredths of a second ahead of his Mercedes teammate.

Sergio Perez in the Cadillac would soon be plagued with issues as, after he had lost some of his bodywork, he then lost ignition while back on track. Soon, Norris would also hit the track, albeit losing 45 minutes of on-track running. Perez’s session would soon unravel after he suffered another issue that saw him stop on track, prompting a red flag.

The changes to the timing in what was a rookie-dominated session would slow as we progressed into the final stretch of the session. However, it was Antonelli who returned to his brilliant best off the back of his setback in Barcelona to top the timing sheets.

The Italian led Russell and Oscar Piastri. Verstappen, who was fourth fastest, was just over two tenths away from his benchmark time. Hamilton was quick enough for fifth, and Arvid Lindblad followed in sixth. Norris, despite losing a lot of on-track running, would clock the seventh quickest time ahead of Colapinto, with Berganovic and Oliver Bearman rounding out the top 10.