Practice report

F1 Austrian GP: Norris tops McLaren 1-2 in FP3 with Verstappen close again

Norris made it two consecutive sessions in which he was quickest as McLaren asserted its dominance ahead of qualifying

Lando Norris was again the benchmark during final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as the McLaren Formula 1 squad showed its domination in Spielberg.

Having sat out FP1, Norris set the pace in FP2 and again in FP3, his time of 1m04.324s enough to beat team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri by a little over a tenth of a second.

There was no queue in the pitlane as the lights went green at the start of the session, a number of drivers milling around in their respective garages in the cooler conditions, although the temperature rose during the session and is expected to continue to do so heading into qualifying.

Norris ran wide on a couple of occasions, while Piastri very nearly spun at Turn 9 having carried too much speed into the corner and dipping into the gravel.

Isack Hadjar completed a pirouette at the final corner in an eye-catching moment as he ultimately managed to keep his Racing Bulls car facing in the right direction.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Tim Clarke

Both Norris and Piastri admitted on Friday that they were worried Max Verstappen will close the gap on them heading into qualifying and the reigning world champion was again closest to the McLarens in FP3, 0.210s shy of Norris – with the Dutchman also having a spin towards the end of running.

Ferrari showed improvement following a forgettable Friday as Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, while the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were next in line.

Lance Stroll had been up in fourth after FP2 and was eighth on Saturday morning, with the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto rounding out the top 10.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix FP3 results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	21	1'04.324		S	241.664
2	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	20	+0.118 1'04.442	0.118	S	241.221
3	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	28	+0.210 1'04.534	0.092	S	240.877
4	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	20	+0.250 1'04.574	0.040	S	240.728
5	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	23	+0.466 1'04.790	0.216	S	239.925
6	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	18	+0.694 1'05.018	0.228	S	239.084
7	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	18	+0.729 1'05.053	0.035	S	238.955
8	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	20	+0.738 1'05.062	0.009	S	238.922
9	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22	Red Bull	Red Bull	17	+0.815 1'05.139	0.077	S	238.640
10	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5	Sauber	Ferrari	18	+0.858 1'05.182	0.043	S	238.483
11	L. Lawson RB	30	RB	Honda	19	+0.858 1'05.182	0.000	S	238.483
12	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	21	+0.919 1'05.243	0.061	S	238.260
13	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	18	+0.959 1'05.283	0.040	S	238.114
14	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	22	+0.990 1'05.314	0.031	S	238.001
15	C. Sainz Williams	55	Williams	Mercedes	21	+1.002 1'05.326	0.012	S	237.957
16	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	21	+1.042 1'05.366	0.040	S	237.811
17	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	26	+1.042 1'05.366	0.000	S	237.811
18	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	21	+1.195 1'05.519	0.153	S	237.256
19	F. Colapinto Alpine	43	Alpine	Renault	26	+1.222 1'05.546	0.027	S	237.158
20	I. Hadjar RB	6	RB	Honda	18	+1.699 1'06.023	0.477	M	235.445
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