Antonelli marks territory in Austria and Mercedes leads on Friday with doubts in Red Bull

The Italian driver Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) confirmed this Friday his great form in the Austrian Grand Prix and closed Friday’s double free trial at the front at the Red Bull Ring, after repeating dominance in the second session with a best time of 1:07.014, ahead of the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), at 237 thousandths, and the British Lando Norris (McLaren), at +0.325, in a day that left very positive signs for Mercedes and more questions than answers for Red Bull.

Having already led FP1 with a close one-two finish with teammate George Russell, Antonelli raised the bar in the afternoon session. The Italian, leader of the World Championship, grew as the minutes passed until he stopped the clock at that 1:07.014 with soft tires, a reference that arrived well into the second half of the session and that no one could dispute.

Piastri was once again the closest, although this time he was more than two tenths behind, while Norris completed the leading trio in a solid performance after a very limited FP1 due to hydraulic problems, leaving great feelings at McLaren for Saturday.

But it was Mercedes who also found performance where it matters most in Spielberg: the last sector. While Antonelli linked the final corners with enormous speed and confidence, Russell suffered much more to close a clean lap and finished sixth, 0.623 behind the leader and behind even Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The four-time champion left one of the stories of Friday. Red Bull finally completed a much cleaner program than in the morning – 29 laps for Verstappen and 28 for his teammate Hadjar – but the Dutchman experienced several setbacks: first a strange incident with the seat that forced the team to intervene in the cockpit and then persistent complaints about the handling of the RB22, especially at the entrance and exit of Turn 3. Even so, Verstappen finished fourth, 0.550 off the best time and maintained a feeling of being able to fight.

Ferrari, on the other hand, taught less than expected. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth (+0.597), although he had several tire lockups and excursions through the loophole, especially under braking. The seven-time champion even complained on the radio about excessive understeer during long simulations. And the Monegasque Charles Leclerc was eighth and both were in a very compressed group behind the surprising Antonelli.

Among the Spanish, a day of opposite sensations. Carlos Sainz, absent in FP1 while Williams focused the work on the other side of the garage, returned to the track to accumulate laps and finish eighteenth, 2.117 seconds off the best time. The Madrid native completed the planned plan after a blank morning and began to make up for lost time ahead of the weekend.

The session was again more complicated for Fernando Alonso. The Asturian, who had already finished last in the first contact, did not find rhythm in FP2 and finished nineteenth, more than three and a half seconds behind Antonelli, with an Aston Martin far from the rear group and without clear signs of immediate improvement.

Friday also left surprises. The Argentine Franco Colapinto (Alpine) saved an exit towards the gravel after losing the rear, while Norris ended up facing the opposite direction after blocking the rear axle in turn 3 and causing a flat tire. But the big scare came again from Cadillac: first the Finnish Valtteri Bottas suffered a mechanical problem that caused sparks and small flames under the car after an apparent suspension failure, and then the Mexican Sergio Pérez was once again stopped on the track due to the same breakdown that had already caused the red flag at the end of FP1 and was unable to set time.