F1 Austrian GP: Russell leads Verstappen in messy FP1 at Red Bull Ring

George Russell followed up on his Canadian Grand Prix victory by setting the pace in opening practice for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

Looking to build on his success in Montreal, Russell recorded a lap of 1m5.542s to put his Mercedes top of the times ahead of rival Max Verstappen, who was 0.065s adrift.

Russell reported raindrops towards the end of the hour-long session in the Styrian mountains and that, coupled with traffic over the short lap, meant nobody could challenge the Briton’s time late on.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri was third fastest, with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris watching on from the pit wall as Irishman Alex Dunne contested his first F1 session.

Dunne leads the F2 standings and impressed on his F1 debut, coming home in fourth and just 0.069s behind Piastri.

“I want to say a massive thank you for making a little boy’s dream come true, this is definitely the best day of my life, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with this car,” Dunne said over the team radio at the end of the session.

Alexander Dunne, McLaren

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

The other rookie running in FP1 was Dino Beganovic, taking over the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc for what was another largely frustrating session for the Scuderia.

Lewis Hamilton’s running was compromised by an early gearbox issue, and he was ninth overall, with Beganovic down in 18th as only the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman set slower times.

Another world champion had issues, as Fernando Alonso bemoaned the “worst outlap we could do,” as he spun his Aston Martin at the final corner, asking too much from the soft tyres.

Pierre Gasly finished fifth for Alpine with Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto catching the eye up in sixth ahead of Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, while Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix FP1 results 

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	34	1'05.542		S	237.173
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	30	+0.065 1'05.607	0.065	S	236.938
3	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	33	+0.155 1'05.697	0.090	S	236.613
4	A. Dunne McLaren	89		McLaren	Mercedes	29	+0.224 1'05.766	0.069	S	236.365
5	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	34	+0.238 1'05.780	0.014	S	236.314
6	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5		Sauber	Ferrari	35	+0.332 1'05.874	0.094	S	235.977
7	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	35	+0.404 1'05.946	0.072	S	235.720
8	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes	33	+0.475 1'06.017	0.071	M	235.466
9	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	20	+0.557 1'06.099	0.082	S	235.174
10	I. Hadjar RB	6		RB	Honda	33	+0.568 1'06.110	0.011	S	235.135
11	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	35	+0.588 1'06.130	0.020	S	235.064
12	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27		Sauber	Ferrari	32	+0.598 1'06.140	0.010	S	235.028
13	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	32	+0.618 1'06.160	0.020	S	234.957
14	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	32	+0.628 1'06.170	0.010	S	234.922
15	L. Lawson RB	30		RB	Honda	34	+0.647 1'06.189	0.019	S	234.854
16	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Renault	34	+0.704 1'06.246	0.057	S	234.652
17	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22		Red Bull	Red Bull	30	+0.720 1'06.262	0.016	S	234.595
18	D. Beganovic Ferrari	38		Ferrari	Ferrari	32	+0.827 1'06.369	0.107	S	234.217
19	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	32	+0.968 1'06.510	0.141	S	233.721
20	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	30	+1.196 1'06.738	0.228	S	232.922
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